Former Durham police recruit pleads guilty in teen sex assault case

William Knight, 33, a former Durham Regional Police recruit, pleaded guilty Friday in a downtown Toronto courtroom to two counts of sexual assault and one count of making child pornography involving two teenage girls, Global News reported.

Knight was attending the Ontario Police College in Aylmer, Ont., when he met the girls, aged 14 and 15, in March 2024 on the social media platform OMEtv, according to an agreed statement of facts read in court. During his interactions with the girls, Knight implied and hinted that he was a "cop."

On March 30, 2024, Knight met the girls in downtown Toronto, where they went to a bar called Scarlett after being denied entry elsewhere for lack of identification, the facts state. Knight bought them alcoholic drinks and kissed both girls. He later drove them to Scarborough, where the 15-year-old became ill from drinking.

In the following days, Knight had unprotected sex with the 14-year-old in a Canadian Tire parking lot and filmed parts of the encounter; six videos were later found on one of his electronic devices, the facts state. He later had sex with her again in the parking lot of a nearby commercial business, and sent her copies of the videos at her request.

The agreed facts acknowledge the girls presented themselves as older than their actual ages — the 14-year-old said she was 18 and the 15-year-old said she was 17 — but state Knight "did not take all reasonable steps to confirm their ages before engaging in sexual relations."

A few days later, the 14-year-old reported the encounter to her school principal, who called police. The names of the two girls are protected under a publication ban.

Knight was arrested at the Ontario Police College on April 5, 2024, and was held for a bail hearing. He was detained at the Central East Correctional Centre, where court heard he was denied access to shaving, a phone and the yard, with the lights left on 24 hours a day for 55 days. Since his release, he has been subject to GPS ankle monitoring and house arrest.

Court also heard that a text conversation with a third teenage girl, born in 2008, was found on Knight's seized phone, but the Crown cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person in the conversation was Knight, and that teenager has declined to take part in the proceedings.

Eight other counts Knight was charged with are expected to be withdrawn. The Crown and defence have jointly asked for a pre-sentence report before sentencing. Assistant Crown attorney Mihael Cole told Superior Court Justice Apple Newton-Smith the two sides are roughly six months apart on an appropriate sentence, though neither side's position was stated in court. No sentencing date has been set.

Knight resigned from the Durham Regional Police Service after he was charged, before he became a sworn officer.