Is 10 days pay a fair punishment for sex in an RCMP patrol car?

This design for the RCMP regimental badge has been in use since 1954. (rcmp-grc.gc.ca) A B.C. RCMP officer was deducted 10 days pay after having sex with a subordinate in a patrol car while on duty two years ago.

An RCMP disciplinary board said Thursday that Staff Sgt. Travis Pearson would have been demoted to a corporal if the investigating officer had charged him with abuse of authority.

Pearson's penalty stemmed instead from his use of police equipment: his RCMP vehicle where he had sex with Const. Susan Gastaldo, and his BlackBerry cellphone he used to exchange sexual text messages with her.

Gastaldo said she was coerced into an intimate affair with Pearson, which included the sexual encounter in the police vehicle in 2009. But the disciplinary board ruled that the relationship was consensual, and found both officers guilty of disgraceful conduct.

A number of female members and one male officer have come forward as part of a CBC News investigation, alleging years of sexual harassment by fellow and superior officers.

Is 10 days pay a suitable punishment for Sgt. Travis Pearson? Why or why not? If not, what would be a more suitable penalty? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.


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