Interior Health's former chief medical health officer is in court this week facing child sex charges dating back to 2018.
Dr. Albert de Villiers was charged in June 2021 with sexual assault and sexual interference against a young child, stemming from alleged incidents in the Grande Prairie area between 2018 and 2020.
On April 12, de Villiers began a preliminary inquiry on the matter in Grande Prairie provincial court. The preliminary inquiry has continued through to this week, but an employee at the court's registry was unable to say when the hearing is scheduled to end.
A preliminary inquiry is generally held prior to a serious case moving to Supreme Court, as it allows for the Crown to test their case in front of a judge. The hearing functions similar to a trial, and a judge will determine if the Crown's case is strong enough to proceed to a Supreme Court trial.
De Villiers was the senior medical officer of health for Alberta's north zone, where he was based out of Alberta, before he moved to Kelowna for Interior Health's top doctor position in August 2020.
He spent a night in custody when charges were laid in June 2021, but he was released on bail the following day under a number of conditions, which include not being in the presence of anyone under the age of 16, unless with an approved person.
Prior to his arrest, de Villiers had been IH's go-to person for communicating COVID-19 pandemic information to the public.
Dr. Sue Pollock took over as interim chief medical health officer at IH after de Villiers was charged.
