OPP officer facing extradition to U.S. on charges of sexual

These are violations by the Ontario Provincial Police officers dealing with the Criminal Code of Canada, Controlled Substance and Abuse Act, Customs and Excise Act, etc.

OPP officer facing extradition to U.S. on charges of sexual

Postby Thomas » Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:31 pm

OPP officer facing extradition to U.S. on charges of sexual abuse involving minors

Brady John Hillis could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in custody in the United States if found guilty on charges of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 and aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12

KENORA, Ont. - An Ontario Provincial Police officer in Kenora facing several charges of sexual abuse involving minors in Minnesota has been denied an appeal to quash an order for his extradition to the United States to stand trial, where he could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years.

Brady John Hillis, 32, is charged with two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 and one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12. He is still a member of the OPP and has been on paid suspension under the terms of the Police Services Act.

The incident is alleged to have taken place in June 2017 while Hillis was a guest at a resort on the Bois Fort Indian Reservation in Minnesota. The victims, who were seven, nine and 12 years old, were also guests at the resort and identified as Indigenous.

Security at the resort was notified of the allegations and local police were contacted. The Federal Bureau of Investigation took over the case and Hillis was released and permitted to return to Canada.

Two months after the alleged offences, the United States sought the extradition of Hillis to stand trial on federal charges, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Hillis was arrested and released from custody on recognizance.

The Minister of Justice of Canada ordered Hillis to surrender for extradition under the Extradition Act.

Counsel for Hillis submitted an application to stay the extradition proceedings arguing that it was an abuse of process, however, a judge with the Superior Court of Justice dismissed the application. The Attorney General of Canada also resisted the application on behalf of the United States, an extradition partner with Canada.

The matter was brought before a three-judge panel in the Ontario Court of Appeal to quash the surrender order for extradition by the Minister of Justice. The Ontario Court of Appeal released its reasons to dismiss the application to review the surrender decision in June, 2021.

The argument in the appeal relied largely on the differences in sentencing for the alleged offences, with the United States requiring a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years on the charge of aggravated sexual abuse on a child under 12. The equivalent charge of sexual interference under the Criminal Code of Canada could carry a sentence of between 90 days and three years.

Hillis' lawyer argued that exposing a Canadian citizen to the mandatory minimum sentence in the United States would ‘shock the conscience and offend the Canadian sense of what is fair, right, and just.’

In the application to stay the extradition proceedings, counsel for Hillis argued he could also face indefinite civil commitment following the carrying out of the sentence if convicted.

Civil commitment in the US can stay an individual’s release from custody at the federal level for those who have engaged or attempted to engage in sexually violent conduct or child molestation, or who suffer from a severe mental illness that makes them sexually dangerous to others.

Minnesota also has a state civil commitment procedure for individuals deemed to be sexually dangerous or identified as having a sexually psychopathic personality.

The United States Justice Department indicated to the Minister of Justice it would not pursue civil commitment of Hillis at the federal level or by the state of Minnesota.

“On the conclusion of any sentence imposed on conviction, or on an acquittal, the applicant, as a Canadian citizen, would immediately be placed in federal deportation proceedings,” Justice David Watt, one of the three Ontario Court of Appeal judges wrote in their reasons.

“Thus, the applicant would not be in state custody and his deportation would have priority over any state civil commitment proceedings. Nor would the United States object to the applicant’s transfer to Canada to serve the remainder of any sentence imposed in the United States if the Government of Canada or the applicant requests this within two years before the conclusion of any sentence imposed on him.”

According to the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision, the Minister of Justice refusing a surrender order under the Extradition Act based on the grounds that a mandatory minimum sentence in the US is greater than a minimum sentence for an equivalent charge in Canada constitutes cruel or unusual punishment under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ‘cannot prevail.’

“In our review of the reasonableness of the Minister’s surrender decision, we must also consider the restraints imposed on the Minister under international law, including under Canada’s treaty obligations,” Justice Watt wrote.

“That Canada has entered into an extradition agreement with another country demonstrates a certain level of confidence in the administration of justice in that country, even if the system may be different from ours, with different priorities and disparate punishments.”

Justice Watt goes on to say in the decision that the Minister of Justice took steps to receive assurances that no civil commitment proceedings would take place following the sentence being carried out if convicted.

“As the Minister recognized, it is well settled that, absent sentences that would invoke consequences such as torture, the death penalty, excision of limbs and the like, the sentencing regimes of other nations, despite their significant severity compared to our own, will not generally ‘shock the conscience’ of Canadians,” Watt writes.

Watt, along with Justices Janet Simmons and L.B. Roberts, agreed to dismiss the application to review the Minister’s surrender decision.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story stated Brady John Hillis was a former member of the OPP. He is still a member of the OPP and is on paid suspension under the terms of the Police Services Act.

https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/ ... rs-3949408
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Canadian police officer charged with abusing children on MN

Postby Thomas » Fri Aug 06, 2021 7:03 am

Canadian police officer charged with abusing children on MN Indian reservation

A Canadian national is facing decades in U.S. prison over child abuse that allegedly happened on a Minnesota Indian reservation.

On Friday, a federal grand jury charged Brady John Hillis, 32, with "two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 years of age and one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12 years of age," a news release states.

The U.S. District Attorney of Minnesota says the abuse happened in June 2018 on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation, which is in northeastern Minnesota.

According to Thunder Bay Newswatch, Hillis was a guest at a resort on the reservation when the crimes were allegedly committed — as were the victims, three girls who were seven, nine and 12 years old.

The news site says Hillis, a resident of Kenora, Ontario, is an Ontario Provincial Police officer, though currently on paid suspension.

As the publication notes, the defendant attempted to fight his extradition on the grounds that U.S. guidelines for such crimes are much harsher than Canada's; Hillis is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years for the aggravated sexual abuse charge.

He made his first appearance in U.S. District Court on Friday.

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-ne ... eservation
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Kenora OPP officer to face trial in U.S. for alleged sex abu

Postby Thomas » Fri Aug 06, 2021 7:06 am

Kenora OPP officer to face trial in U.S. for alleged sex abuse of girls

Brady John Hillis faces potential 30-year mandatory sentence

A Kenora OPP officer will face trial in the U.S. on charges of sexually abusing two Indigenous girls at a resort on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation in Minnesota.

A U.S. federal grand jury formally indicted Brady John Hillis, 32, last week in connection with complaints made by girls age seven and nine who vacationed with their parents at the Fortune Bay Resort Casino in 2018.

Hillis is charged with U.S. federal crimes including aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12, which carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison.

Hillis made his initial court appearance in Minnesota on Friday, acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk said in a statement.

In June, Hillis lost a bid in Ontario's Court of Appeal to have the decision by Canadian officials to surrender him to the U.S reviewed.

Hillis has been on suspension from the OPP under the requirements of Ontario's Police Services Act.

The alleged abuse happened in the span of about an hour on June 22, 2018, court documents say.

Hillis is accused of offering the nine-year-old girl money in exchange for touching her at an arcade.

The seven-year-old alleged he abused her at a resort pool, court documents said.

The incidents were first reported to resort security, who called police. Eventually, the FBI handled the case.

Hillis was released and allowed to return to Canada. He immediately notified his OPP superiors, the appeals court said.

Extradition fight

Canada's justice minister ordered him to surrender for extradition in May 2020. Hillis initially fought the application on the grounds it was an abuse of process but a judge dismissed it.

He then sought to have the justice minister's decision reviewed, arguing the sentence he could receive in the U.S. was out of line with what he'd get in Canada, where the maximum sentence for sexual interference is 14 years.

While that charge does technically carry a one-year mandatory minimum, it has been struck down by the courts as being in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

As well, Hillis raised concerns about being subjected to what's called "civil commitment" in the U.S., where the state can indefinitely detain mentally ill sex offenders after their sentences end on the grounds they are "sexually dangerous to others."

However, the Canadian government said it was given assurances the U.S. would not invoke the civil commitment procedure for Hillis and he'd be sent back to Canada.

As well, the U.S. said it wouldn't object to Hillis or the Canadian government requesting he be transferred back to Canada to serve the balance of his sentence, as long as it's made two years before it ends.

The appeals court found the minister's decision to extradite Hillis was reasonable, despite the potential disparities in penalties between the two countries.

"The minister was well aware of the nature and extent of the disparity and of its importance to his surrender decision. He took steps to obtain assurances to reduce that disparity," Justice David Watt wrote.

No trial dates have been set in Hillis' case and he is presumed innocent.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba ... -1.6126578
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Former Kenora OPP officer pleads guilty to sexually abusing

Postby Thomas » Thu Jan 27, 2022 5:45 pm

Former Kenora OPP officer pleads guilty to sexually abusing minors in Minnesota

Brady John Hillis, who has since resigned from the Kenora OPP, pleaded guilty to two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 from an incident that took place in June 2018 at a resort on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation in Minnesota.

KENORA, Ont. – A former Ontario Provincial Police Officer in Kenora who was denied an appeal of his extradition to the United States to face charges of abusive sexual contact with a minor in Minnesota has since pleaded guilty to two charges.

Brady John Hillis, 32, appeared before Chief U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim in Minneapolis last week, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 years of age.

The charges relate to an incident in June 2018 when Hillis was a guest at a resort on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation in Minnesota, which is approximately 90 kilometres south of Fort Frances, Ont.

The victims, who were also guests at the resort, identified as Indigenous. An investigation was launched by the Bois Forte Police Department and was taken over by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

According to a statement issued by the District of Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office, security surveillance video showed Hillis engaging in sexual contact with two minor victims under the age of 12.

After the incident, Hillis was released and permitted to return to Canada, but the United States sought Hillis’ extradition to stand trial on the charges.

The Minister of Justice of Canada ordered Hillis to surrender for extradition under the Extradition Act and while his counsel filed an application to stay the extradition proceedings, a judge with the Superior Court of Justice dismissed the application.

Defense counsel then filed an appeal with the Ontario Court of Appeals requesting the surrender order be quashed, citing differences in sentencing in the United States and Canada.

The appeal was dismissed by a panel of three Justices with the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Prior to the guilty plea, Hillis was on paid suspension from the OPP as per the Police Services Act, but he has since resigned from the organization effective Jan. 18, 2022.

A sentencing hearing is to be scheduled at a later date.

https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/ ... ta-4988298
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Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

Postby Thomas » Sun Jul 24, 2022 3:57 pm

Former Ontario Provincial Police Officer Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing Minors on the Bois Forte Reservation

MINNEAPOLIS – A former Ontario Provincial Police officer was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for abusive sexual contact with two minors at the Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on June 22, 2018, Brady John Hillis, 33, a citizen of Canada, was at the Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation. Hillis was captured on Fortune Bay’s security surveillance video engaging in sexual contact with two minor victims who were under 12 years of age.

Hillis was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Judge John R. Tunheim. On January 18, 2022, Hillis pleaded guilty to two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 years of age.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Bois Forte Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad prosecuted the case.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/form ... ly-abusing

https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/e ... servation/

https://www.cbs3duluth.com/2022/07/20/o ... rtune-bay/
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Former Kenora OPP Officer Gets 10 years in US Prison for Sex

Postby Thomas » Sun Jul 24, 2022 4:03 pm

Former Kenora OPP Officer Gets 10 years in US Prison for Sex Crime

MINNEAPOLIS – United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger announded that “A former Ontario Provincial Police officer who served in Kenora was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by another 10 years of supervised release for abusive sexual contact with two minors at the Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation”.

According to court documents, on June 22, 2018, Brady John Hillis, 33, a citizen of Canada, was at the Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation. Hillis was captured on Fortune Bay’s security surveillance video engaging in sexual contact with two minor victims who were under 12 years of age.

Hillis was sentenced July 20, 2022, in U.S. District Court before Judge John R. Tunheim.

On January 18, 2022, Hillis pleaded guilty to two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 years of age.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Bois Forte Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad prosecuted the case.

https://www.netnewsledger.com/2022/07/2 ... sex-crime/
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Ex-Kenora OPP officer gets 10 years prison in U.S. for sexua

Postby Thomas » Thu Jul 28, 2022 4:00 pm

Ex-Kenora OPP officer gets 10 years prison in U.S. for sexual abuse of girls

Brady Hillis assaulted girls aged 7 and 9 at Minnesota resort

A former Kenora OPP officer has been sentenced to 10 years in U.S. federal prison for sexually abusing two children at a Minnesota resort.

Brady John Hillis previously pleaded guilty to two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12. He learned his sentence this week in front of U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim. A charge of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12 was dismissed. That charge carried with it a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years.

Hillis committed the assaults on girls aged seven and nine on June 22, 2018, at the Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation, located about 140 kilometres south of International Falls. At the time he was employed as a police officer stationed in Kenora. He has since resigned.

The girls, who were there vacationing with their parents, were assaulted in the span of about 10 minutes. Hillis assaulted one girl in an arcade and the other shortly after in a resort swimming pool, according to an agreed statement of facts filed in court.

His actions were captured on surveillance cameras, the statement of facts said. Hillis waived the right to claim he was intoxicated at the time.

In his plea agreement, U.S. prosecutors and Hillis's lawyer asked the court to have the 33-year-old deported after his sentence was imposed. It was not clear from court filings at sentencing whether that request was granted.

The U.S. government has said it would not object to either Hillis or the Canadian government requesting he be transferred back to Canada to serve his sentence if it's made at least two years before it ends.

Hillis fought extradition from Canada but lost his final legal battle on that front in June 2021.

Tunheim ordered Hillis to serve 10 years of supervised release after leaving prison and pay $5,000 in restitution.

'Punishment is not just required, it is deserved,' lawyer tells court

A letter Hillis wrote to the court, letters of support from friends and family and a pre-sentencing report delving into his background were ordered sealed by the judge until the year 2037.

Defence lawyer Aaron Morrison told court Hillis "recognizes the harm he has done to innocent people. In no way does he try to shift the blame."

Morrison had argued for a sentence of six-and-a-half years for Hillis, saying in a court filing Hillis was remorseful, has accepted programming while in jail awaiting his day in court and has been open with family and friends about what he did.

He's been in counselling "to understand why he betrayed everything he believes in," said Morrison.

"There is no justification for what Mr. Hillis did in this case," Morrison wrote. "Punishment is not just required, it is deserved.

"Mr. Hillis did a horrible thing [but] he is not a horrible person."

The supports Hillis has in place will help ensure he doesn't re-offend, the lawyer said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba ... -1.6530436
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Former Ontario cop gets 10 years for Bois Forte child sex ab

Postby Thomas » Thu Jul 28, 2022 4:01 pm

REGIONAL- A former Ontario Provincial Police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison last week in federal district court in Minnesota for sexually abusing two young girls while he was a guest at Fortune Bay Casino Resort in 2018.

Brady John Hillis, of Kenora, Ontario, previously pled guilty in January to two counts of abusive sexual contact with two girls, ages seven and nine, in the arcade and pool areas of the resort on June 22, 2018. Hillis also stipulated in his plea agreement to inappropriately touching a third girl in the pool area, but he was not charged in that incident.

All three incidents, which occurred over the period of less than an hour, were captured on the resort’s security cameras, according to court documents.

In the original indictment, Hillis was also charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12, a charge that carried a minimum prison sentence of 30-years to a maximum of life. Prosecutors agreed to drop that charge in exchange for the guilty pleas on the abusive sexual contact charges.

U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim ordered Hillis to serve ten years of supervised release after leaving prison and pay $5,000 in restitution.

In a pre-sentencing filing with the court, defense attorney Arron Morrison had argued for a prison term of six-and-a-half years based on his admission of guilt, and for counseling he has received since being incarcerated.

“There is no justification for what Mr. Hillis did in this case. Punishment is not just required, it is deserved,” Morrison wrote. “Mr. Hillis did a horrible thing, but he is not a horrible person.”

Under U.S. sentencing guidelines referenced in the January plea agreement, Hillis could have been sent to prison for up to 19-1/2 years and fined up to $400,000. As the guidelines are advisory only, Judge Tunheim had full discretion to determine the final penalties.

http://www.timberjay.com/stories/former ... case,19246?
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