A Vancouver police officer was arrested in Burnaby on Thursday on incest and sexual assault charges. A Vancouver police officer was arrested in Burnaby on Thursday on incest and sexual assault charges. (CBC)

Incest and sexual assault charges have been laid against a Vancouver police officer following his arrest Thursday by the Burnaby RCMP's serious-crime section.

The arrest relates to an alleged sexual assault that occurred between July 31 and Aug. 1 in Burnaby, a suburb east of Vancouver.

The officer will appear in Vancouver provincial court in September, according to a statement released by RCMP Sgt. Jane Baptista on Friday.

A publication ban forbids naming the individuals involved in the case, but the officer is a long-serving member of the force, according to a statement released by the Vancouver Police Department on Friday.

The Criminal Code of Canada, section 155. (1), defines incest as:

  • Every one commits incest who, knowing that another person is by blood relationship his or her parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild, as the case may be, has sexual intercourse with that person.
  • Every one who commits incest is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.

"The VPD considers the nature of the offence to be very serious and abhors the actions attributed to this member," VPD spokeswoman Laurel Kennedy said.

The officer was suspended from duty immediately, but according to the Police Act the suspension is with pay for the first 30 days, Kennedy said.

The VPD's professional standards section will shadow the criminal investigation being conducted by the Burnaby RCMP and will conduct a parallel Police Act investigation, she said.

"Chief Const. Jim Chu will be providing recommendations to the police board after 30 days as to whether the suspension will continue, and with or without pay," Kennedy said.