Ottawa Police Service constable faces sex crime charges

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An Ottawa Police Service constable is facing several sex crime charges involving minors.

Police said in a press release on Friday that Const. Charlene Abella has been charged with three counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference and one count of sexual exploitation.

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The charges do not relate to on-duty behaviour, the police service said.

The media release said it was made aware of the allegations “related to persons under the age of 18″ in late March, and advised the Ontario Special Investigations Unit, the province’s police watchdog.

But since the allegations aren’t related to Abella’s on-duty behaviour, it didn’t fall under the SIU’s mandate.

Then, “the investigation was transferred to Peel Regional Police to ensure the matter was addressed by an external agency with no connection to those involved.”

Abella has been suspended from duty with pay, per the Community Safety and Policing Act. She was to appear in court on Friday afternoon, the police service said. The allegations against her have not been proven in court.

“The Ottawa Police Service is closely monitoring all developments in this case and is fully prepared to act under the legislation should the conditions for an unpaid suspension be met,” the police service said.

Abella has been featured on the police service’s social media as recently as 2022, in a post celebrating Asian Heritage Month and women in policing.

“I grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, one of four girls. I’m the first person in my family to choose a policing career,” Abella wrote in a social media post by the OPS.

“After graduating from Police Foundations at Mohawk College, I enrolled in Criminology at Carleton University with minor studies in psychology. I fell in love with Ottawa and the people. I’m from a tight-knit family, so my mom and dad found it hard when I decided to stay in Ottawa, but they are proud of me becoming a police officer.”

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