A Waterloo Regional Police officer is facing a criminal charge of sexual assault.
According to Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, the charge relates to an alleged incident involving the officer in April 2015, when he was attending the Ontario Police College in Aylmer.
The person who brought forward the complaint against the officer was also at the college at the time, the SIU says.
Det. Const. Zachary Gent is charged with one count of sexual assault.
The Ontario Police College provides a program to train new police officers for organizations across the province, as well as ongoing training and education for officers.
The complaint against Gent also led to an internal investigation by Waterloo Regional Police, which led to action shortly after the allegation came to the organization’s attention.
“We conducted an initial investigation, and as a result we’ve suspended Det. Const. Zach Gent from duty,” said police spokesperson Alana Russell.
Gent is suspended with pay, as is mandated by Ontario’s Police Services Act.
In 2010, a Const. Zachary Gent with Waterloo Regional Police pleaded guilty to insubordination after retrieving information from a police database for someone he knew.
Police said they were unable to confirm whether that Gent is the same as the one charged with sexual assault due to labour laws.
