Former B.C. public health officer sentenced to 5½ years for sexually abusing Alberta child

Boy said he trusted the doctor like a grandfather and believed the abuse was his fault.

UPDATE: Albert de Villiers was charged in a separate case of one count each of voyeurism, sexual touching and making sexually explicit materials available to a child. These charges were withdrawn on Sept. 13, 2023, and a peace bond was issued. A spokesperson for Alberta’s Crown Prosecution Service said this was the “only available and appropriate resolution” due to challenges with the case.

WARNING: This article contains references to sexual abuse and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​abuse or know someone affected by it. 

A former chief medical officer of health for B.C. has been sentenced to 5½ years in prison for sexual offences against a young Grande Prairie boy.
Court of Kings Bench Justice Shaina Leonard handed down the decision on Tuesday after a day of deliberation.

“The offender’s moral blameworthiness is high,” Leonard said. “The offender exploited the victim’s vulnerability by taking advantage of the offender’s position of trust as a trusted friend of the family.”

In February, Dr. Albert de Villiers was found guilty of sexual interference. A sexual assault charge was stayed.

De Villiers worked for 16 years as a medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services’ North zone. He moved to Kelowna in 2020 to work as the chief medical officer of health for Interior Health.

Leonard found that de Villiers sexually abused the boy on five to eight occasions over two years, starting when the boy was seven years old.

Leonard said the doctor groomed the boy through a chain of events from sleepovers to private phone calls and pornography that gradually isolated the child.

She noted de Villiers’ “calculating nature” in which he was careful to avoid detection in a position of trust that allowed him access to the victim.
De Villiers worked in Grande Prairie between 2018 and 2020. The victim was the son of a close friend. 

In a victim impact statement read in court Monday, the boy said he trusted de Villiers like a grandfather and later feared the doctor would come hurt him and his family.

“What you did to me made me think the abuse was my fault,” he said. “I felt very confused about what you did to me and that you told me to keep it a secret or you will go to jail. So, I kept it a secret.” 
The boy’s statement concluded: “I want you to know that I have a good life now. I don’t think about you anymore.”

The boy’s parents expressed pain and guilt for letting the doctor get close to their son.

“It is on rare occasions that we see him laugh and smile simply because he enjoys life,” his mother wrote in her victim impact statement. “His spark is gone.”

The boy’s parents said they have continued to suffer emotionally from de Villiers’ actions. 

“I struggle with my religion asking why this? Why us? What did we do wrong to deserve this?” the boy’s father wrote in the victim impact statement.

“I would have given everything so this would have never happened to my son.”

Crown prosecutor Amber Pickrell argued that an eight-year sentence was appropriate. She outlined multiple aggravating factors including the child’s young age, the position of trust held by de Villiers, the frequency of the assault and the impact on the boy and his family.

Defence lawyer Amy Lind asked for four years arguing that mitigating factors included the element of public denunciation in the media, 28 letters written by friends, neighbours, coaches and doctors who considered him a good man, and de Villiers’ low risk of re-offending.

But the judge disagreed, noting de Villiers had not sought treatment.

Leonard said the only mitigating factor was that de Villiers, who pleaded not guilty, called the boy’s parents and left a message apologizing for his behaviour, after realizing they knew.
De Villiers will also have to submit a DNA sample and his name will be added to the national sex offender registry. 

He is scheduled to go to trial on three other charges in August involving another child.

In that case, de Villiers faces one count each of voyeurism, sexual touching and making sexually explicit materials available to a child.