Albert de Villiers was charged earlier this week with soliciting sex, voyeurism and making sexual material available to a child, RCMP in Grande Prairie said. In a news release Thursday, the detachment said the 54-year-old, who lives in Kelowna, is scheduled to appear in court in September. He appeared briefly this week, then was released on various conditions. These conditions include not being in the presence of anyone under 16 unless supervised. The latest charges stem from a tip police received in January about offenses involving a child that allegedly occurred between January 2017 and December 2019. The former top doctor in BC’s Internal Health region was charged last year with sexual assault and sexual interference. Mounties said these offenses were reported to have allegedly occurred between June 2018 and July 2020. At the time, de Villiers was working as a public health officer in Grande Prairie. In August 2020, he was hired by Internal Health as chief medical officer. A spokesman confirmed on Thursday that de Villiers remains employed at the health authority, but did not say in what capacity. Interior Health told CTV News it could not provide more information “due to confidentiality obligations” and because the case is before the courts. In June 2021, an interim chief medical officer, Dr. Su Pollock. When the charges were first announced, an Internal Health spokesman could not say whether de Villiers had undergone a criminal record check or other screening before being hired. Although the charges date back to when de Villiers was in Grande Prairie for work, police said at least the first case had nothing to do with his employment. With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Penny Daflos
