Edmonton police officer Hunter Robinz sentenced to six months in jail

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An Edmonton police constable who used his job to pursue sexual relationships with vulnerable women has joined a tiny, unhappy club: Alberta police officers ordered to serve time behind bars.

Hunter Robinz of the Edmonton Police Service was led into the courthouse cells Friday after Court of King’s Bench Justice Susan Bercov sentenced him to six months in jail, followed by two years of probation.

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The Crown sought two to three years in prison, while the defence asked for a conditional sentence order to be served in the community.

Bercov said a “strong message” needed to be sent to police officers who abuse the public trust, and applauded the women for their “courage” in coming forward.

“I acknowledge the anxiety and fear they had in doing so,” she said. “Their courageous actions prevented other women from being victimized.”

Robinz — a 39-year-old former Canadian Forces soldier who fought in Afghanistan — pleaded guilty last October to criminal breach of trust. He was initially charged with two breach of trust counts, unauthorized use of a computer database and sexual assault.

“In this case, Mr. Robinz knowingly abused the trust placed in him over a period of years involving eight different vulnerable women,” Bercov said A conditional sentence “does not adequately address the paramount (sentencing) objectives of denunciation and deterrence,” she said. 

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It is rare for police officers convicted of crimes to be sentenced to jail time. Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) records identify only two such cases since the police watchdog’s creation in 2008.

‘Hyper sexual’ texts

In an agreed statement of facts, Robinz admitted to making sexual advances toward eight women he met on duty between March 2017 and June 2019.

One of the women was in an abusive relationship and met Robinz when he responded to a call. When her spouse allegedly beat and sexually assaulted her, she said she could not undergo a rape kit “because she had recently had sex with her police officer ‘boyfriend,’ ” later identified as Robinz. 

Another woman described Robinz letting himself into her house after he and his partner drove her home. The woman was upset and intoxicated in a public park and did not have her keys. Robinz and his partner stopped by her roommate’s workplace and borrowed a key, but instead of returning it, Robinz later returned alone and let himself inside.

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Robinz spent the next hour and a half at the woman’s home, putting his hands on her and trying to kiss her as she pleaded for him to leave. The woman said Robinz ignored his police radio during the encounter, which was going off with other calls.

“She felt lucky she was not black-out drunk because she was still able to say ‘no’ and … push him away,” prosecutor Photini Papadatou said.

In another case, Robinz responded to a break and enter at a family home. While he initially appeared to take the case seriously, he later sent the young woman a stream of what she described as “hyper sexual” texts.

“He would come by the house every day and park in the driveway,” she wrote in a victim impact statement. “Do slow drive-bys around and around. Park in the back alley directly behind our house.”

“I was disgusted by this guy,” the woman’s mother told court. She added: “You can’t just tell someone Hunter doesn’t represent all of the police force. Because how could anyone who worked with him not know what he was, when it became clear to us pretty quickly?”

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Robinz’s crimes came to light after the victim whose home he entered filed a complaint.

In a “community impact” statement, the head of the EPS sexual assault section, Staff Sgt. Harry Grewal, called Robinz’s actions “egregious” and lamented the impact they have had on public trust in policing. 

Robinz has been suspended from duty without pay since March 2021. He was previously convicted of storing an EPS rifle and ammunition in his bedroom closet while confined to desk duty pending an internal investigation. He also faced allegations of assault from his ex-fiancée, who claimed Robinz grabbed her by the throat during a fight, though he was ultimately acquitted of the charge.

Robinz suffered PTSD: Defence

In arguing for a community sentence, defence lawyer Allan Fay presented evidence of his client’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which he said arose from Robinz’s service in Afghanistan.

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Speaking with a psychiatrist, Robinz said his behaviour started “innocently with flirting” before spiralling out of control. He linked some of his impulsive actions to his military service, describing the time a fellow soldier was killed by an explosive meant for his group.

“He indicated he became more reckless after that, volunteering to lead patrols … over other soldiers who had kids,” Dr. Alberto Choy wrote.

Choy linked Robinz’s PTSD to his behaviour as a police officer, suggesting a pre-existing “thrill-seeking element” in his personality was exacerbated by his wartime experiences.

The report also highlighted a history of alcohol abuse, noting Robinz had to try “not to drink in the morning.”

Bercov agreed Robinz suffers from PTSD, which she said was a mitigating factor justifying a shorter sentence. She did not accept with the Crown’s suggestion that Robinz was well enough to pass psychological screening before joining EPS, saying she has no evidence how police screen recruits.

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Robinz’s PTSD was not, however, enough to merit a community sentence. Bercov noted his actions were not “one instance of poor judgment,” but multiple years of encountering “very vulnerable individuals,” seeking out their contact information and propositioning them.

“In some cases his communications led to consensual sexual relationships,” Bercov said. “In other cases, the victims rejected his suggestions or advances.”

Bercov rejected the Crown’s request to consider the incident involving the rape kit an aggravating factor, saying that while a “very unfortunate event,” it was only “remotely” connected to the breach of trust.

She also declined to find Robinz’s offending contributed to a loss of public trust in EPS. While Robinz “tarnished” the service’s reputation, Bercov said, EPS responded “quickly” on learning of Robinz’s misconduct.

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“Any harm to the reputation of the EPS would likely be mitigated by the response of the department in bringing Mr. Robinz to justice,” she said. 

Robinz himself apologized in court.

“It was unacceptable,” he said. “I was in a crisis and I didn’t know.”

‘A just sentence’

Outside court, prosecutor John Schmidt echoed Bercov’s praise of the women who came forward.

“As a result of that courage, we were able to obtain a conviction, obtain a just sentence and perhaps more importantly than anything else, protect other potential victims.”

According to ASIRT records, 63 officers have been charged since the agency’s launch, only two of whom have been sentenced to time behind bars.

Former Mountie Aaron Sayler received a total of two years for fraud, harassment and mischief for harassing former girlfriends, as well as for obstructing justice as part of what prosecutors said was a plot to flee the country.

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Calgary police officer James Othen was given a 90-day jail sentence for assaulting a suspect during an arrest, which the court allowed him to serve on weekends.

Another RCMP member not included in ASIRT’s records, Ron Lavallee, was sentenced to two months for assaulting a prisoner. 

jwakefield@postmedia.com

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