A Kelowna RCMP officer pleaded guilty to attempting to obstruct justice this week, following allegations that he sent sexually explicit text messages to a victim in a domestic abuse case he was investigating.
On Monday, Const. Sean Eckland pleaded guilty to attempting to obstruct justice by failing to disclose relevant evidence, and the case was pushed to March to allow for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
Back in March 2022, Eckland was of obstruction of justice, for what the BC Prosecution Service described as his “involvement as an investigator following an allegation of intimate partner violence in Lake Country.”
He was the responding officer and lead investigator in the 2018 aggravated assault case that led to a for the accused, 42-year-old Lonnie Smith.
The victim, who was 22 at the time, was beaten by Smith repeatedly over a 12-hour period. She suffered two subdural hematomas (brain bleeds), a head fracture, torn rotator cuff and broken nose and facial bones. She has since permanently lost her sense of taste and smell as a result of the injuries.
Eckland was accused of sending sexually explicit text messages to the victim in the case during his investigation. Further details about Eckland's actions are expected to be disclosed during his upcoming sentencing hearing.
As a result of the allegations against Eckland, Smith successfully withdrew his guilty pleas in the case in July 2020 with the consent of the Crown. Then, he struck a plea deal with the Crown the following November, and was sentenced to two and a half years.
Eckland was suspended from the RCMP, with pay, back in December 2019. He's scheduled to face an RCMP on March 25 of this year. These hearings are held to determine if an officer will be fired for their conduct.
Eckland was initially set to face trial on two counts of obstruction of justice back in December, but the when Eckland decided to instead plead guilty to the single charge. The Crown is expected to drop the second charge at the conclusion of sentencing.
