KPU criminology instructor admits to sexually harassing 3 B.C. university students, 2 VPD coworkers

Editor’s Note: This article includes mentions of sexual harassment and other details that may be distressing to some readers. If you or someone you know needs help, please reach out to HealthLinkBC at 811 or VictimLink BC at 1-800-563-0808. Help is available, please reach out. 

Kwantlen Polytechnic University criminology instructor Keiron McConnell admitted to sexually harassing five women, including three adult B.C. university students and two subordinate officers from the Vancouver Police Department (VPD).

McConnell, who was the VPD’s longest-serving sergeant, was demoted to a first-class constable and suspended for 20 days, among other disciplinary measures.

Besides KPU, he also taught classes at Simon Fraser University and Royal Roads University.

In a May 28 email statement to The Runner, Vice-President Human Resources Laurie Clancy wrote that McConnell is on leave from KPU and the university “cannot provide further information because of privacy legislation.”

“[KPU] is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful learning and working environment for members of its community. KPU expects employees to follow its code of conduct and policies, including its sexual misconduct policy,” Clancy wrote.

“The university follows its related procedures in the event an allegation is made of an employee breaching its code of conduct or policies.”

KPU could not provide The Runner with information on when he was placed on leave, again citing privacy legislation.

The hearings and admission to sexual harassment

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) issued a notice of public hearing into the matter on June 19, 2024. This notice included sexual harassment allegations against McConnell from seven women.

There were two public hearings: one on April 9 and the other on May 6. At the first hearing, McConnell admitted to five of the allegations, excluding those from one VPD colleague and one student, and both his and the inquiry’s lawyers created a joint submission of misconduct and disciplinary and corrective measures.

Retired provincial court chief judge Carol Baird Ellan, who was the adjudicator in the hearing, read her decision at the May 6 hearing.

She wrote that each of the five allegations McConnell admitted to consist of discreditable conduct under the Police Act, which is legislation that guides the OPCC’s proceedings.

The misconduct noted in Baird Ellan’s decision took place between 2015 and 2019.

In the agreed statement of facts, McConnell admitted to sending electronic messages that were sexual in nature to an officer in the VPD’s Gang Crime Unit (GCU). The officer was first on Team 1 of the GCU before being transferred to Team 2, which was led by McConnell. His conduct caused the officer to feel degraded and suffer anxiety as a result.

“She was concerned about raising the issue with [McConnell] because of his position; however, she eventually confronted him about it and he apologized,” Baird Ellan’s decision reads. “[She] was satisfied that the matter had been dealt with informally at that point.”

McConnell admitted to also sending electronic messages that included sexual remarks about another female officer’s underwear, her sexual preferences, and his sexual fantasies. The officer was a mentee under McConnell’s GCU team before securing a spot in Team 2 of the gang unit.

His comments caused the officer to feel degraded and experience anxiety as a result. In the agreed facts, McConnell understood that because he was in a position of authority over her, she felt she could not raise the issue with him.

A student, who is identified as Student 1 in the decision, took two classes taught by McConnell at a B.C. university in either fall 2015 or spring 2016. McConnell invited her to attend an event at a pub alongside other former students of his on Nov. 8, 2016.

Once the group of other students left, and either McConnell or Student 1 was in the washroom, McConnell sent Student 1 texts about what colour underwear she was wearing and suggested different colours. The two left the pub in a taxi, and when Student 1 reached her destination, McConnell leaned over and tried to kiss her, which she deflected, and got out of the taxi.

“[He] contacted Student 1 to apologize the next day,” Baird Ellan wrote in her decision. “She did not respond and did not report the incident at that time because she feared for her career prospects, but later reported it, with Student 2, in 2017, to the university administration.”

Student 2 took a course taught by McConnell at a B.C. university. In February 2017, when she was no longer a student of his, she received a series of unsolicited Facebook messages, which included sexual content and innuendo.

Despite writing back that his messages made her uncomfortable and asking for their relationship to remain professional, McConnell sent her additional messages that were sexual in nature.

“Student 2 aspired to be a police officer and was concerned about negative repercussions of not responding to [McConnell], and did not report the interaction due to concerns about her career, until she later reported it with Student 1,” Baird Ellan wrote.

In her decision, Baird Ellan also referenced the case’s June 2024 notice of public hearing, which stated that Student 2 ultimately changed her mind about becoming a police officer, which she attributed to her experience with McConnell.

Another student who studied at a university in B.C. from 2011 to 2018, identified as Student 3, had McConnell as her honours supervisor and took courses taught by him. During the time he was supervising her honours project, he sent messages that commented on her physical attractiveness.

“Student 3 aspired to be a police officer and this experience with [him] was one factor in her decision not to pursue that career,” Baird Ellan wrote in her decision.

McConnell acknowledged his actions towards the five women were unwanted and inappropriate in the agreed statement of facts.

Baird Ellan wrote that he also “accepts that he was either in a position of authority, or the affected individual considered him an authority figure.”