WINNIPEG–A veteran Winnipeg police officer who worked briefly for a government child welfare agency has been suspended following allegations of sexually assaulting two 11-year-old boys.
Kenneth Jack Anderson, 47, was formally charged Tuesday with two counts each of sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual exploitation.
Anderson has worked on the city police force for about 17 years.
The charges date back to September 2006. Both of the alleged victims were 11 at the time, said Sgt. Line Karpish, a Manitoba RCMP spokeswoman.
She would not discuss the nature of the alleged incidents.
Police were made aware of the allegations last spring through the city police force, said Karpish.
"There were indications that this happened in our (jurisdiction)," she said.
Police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said Anderson was placed on administrative leave around the start of the investigation.
"His employment status is under review," said Michalyshen.
But Michalyshen did not know if Anderson is getting paid while on leave.
A news release from the RCMP said Anderson was briefly employed by Manitoba Child and Family Services last spring. However, Karpish said she does not have any further details about Anderson's job there.
A spokeswoman for the child welfare department said it's unlikely the agency will comment on Anderson's employment record due to privacy issues.
Anderson's first appeared in court in July when he was released after promising not to have any contact with the alleged victims or any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18.
His next court date is Oct. 20 in Teulon, a town about 60 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
