Colin Basran, former Kelowna mayor, charged with sexual assault. (submitted photo/City of Kelowna)

By Pete McIntyre

Charge laid

Former Kelowna mayor charged with sexual assault

Dec 7, 2022 | 2:51 PM

The former mayor of Kelowna has been charged with one count of sexual assault.

The decision to lay the charge against Colin Basran came after an investigation by Kelowna RCMP and a review of the evidence by the Nelson Police Department and then a special prosecutor.

The sexual assault is alleged to have occurred in Kelowna in May of this year when he was the city’s mayor, and no other details have been provided by the B.C. Prosecution Service.

Basran, who lost his bid for re-election in October, will make his first court appearance Jan. 24.

The Prosecution Service said B.C.’s assistant deputy attorney general, Peter Juk, appointed Vancouver lawyer Brock Martland on Oct. 13, 2022 as the special prosecutor in the case because he considered it in the public interest to do so.

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“The appointment of a special prosecutor is intended to avoid any potential for real or perceived improper influence in the administration of justice considering the nature of the allegations and the identity of the accused as an elected municipal official,” Dan McLaughlin, communications counsel with the BCPS, said.