A Sarnia police officer is facing 11 criminal charges, including nine counts of assault linked to three different complainants, two of them women and at least one a former spouse, The Observer has learned.
Jeremy Wilde, a 45-year-old first-class constable who joined the Sarnia force in 2017, has now been arrested three times by provincial police over the past 16 months, including earlier this week.
THE CHARGES
Wilde, a Sarnia resident at the time, was first arrested on Aug. 2, 2021, and charged with assault, assault causing bodily harm and mischief worth less than $5,000, court records show. All three charges are linked to a woman and allegedly took place between May 16 and May 17, 2021, in the Lambton County community of St. Clair Township.
The mischief charge is tied to the woman’s purse and its contents, the documents say.
Wilde was also charged at the same time with assaulting the same woman in the Northern Bruce Peninsula, a popular summer vacation area near Owen Sound, Ont., between June 11 and June 12, 2021. The documents do not indicate how the woman is connected to Wilde, who was released on a police undertaking on Aug. 16, 2021.
The court documents do confirm the next five charges, which surfaced when he was arrested again this past April, are connected to alleged intimate-partner violence. Wilde was charged with four separate counts of assault allegedly taking place between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31, 2021, on Feb. 13, on May 14, and between May 1 and May 31. The fifth charge is linked to an allegation of uttering a death threat via text on Nov. 4.
All five of those charges are connected to the same complainant, a second woman, and were classified on the documents as forms of spousal assault. The alleged incidents either took place in St. Clair Township – Wilde was living in Corunna at the time – or Plympton-Wyoming.
The two women did not respond by press time to requests for comment.
Wilde was arrested again on Wednesday and charged with another count of assault and mischief worth less than $5,000. This time, the assault charge was tied to a man and the mischief charge was tied to another man. It’s not clear how those two complainants know Wilde, who was living in Plympton-Wyoming when he was arrested this week, but the offenses allegedly took place in that community.
The mischief charge is tied to an allegation involving the second man’s door.
BAIL AND BOOZE
Wilde was held in custody overnight Wednesday and finally released just prior to the Sarnia courthouse closing Thursday evening on $1,000 bail. His sister, Makeysha Wilde, eventually agreed to be his surety, but was initially hesitant about taking on the role as they’re both on the hook for the money if he’s caught breaking any of the rules of his release.
Wilde told the bail court – no publication ban on what was said there was ordered – and his 44-year-old sister he hasn’t broken any of the conditions of his release in the past, which have been in effect for more than a year, and doesn’t plan on doing so now.
“My issue is drinking and when I drink that’s when I do silly things, and I don’t have the money to drink. I don’t have nothing to offer (for) booze anymore and I’m gonna go and get help,” he said.
Wilde earned more than $107,000 last year, according to sunshineliststats.com.
“I’m sure you’re very law-abiding and a good citizen when you’re not drinking, but how am I assured that if I’m not with you you’re not going to go drink and do something stupid and violate them when you’re not in your right mind and I’m on the hook for $1,000,” she responded. “You’ve already done so much, Jeremy, that I don’t need that.”
Wilde told the court he identifies as an Indigenous person, although he didn’t say what First Nation his family is from, and plans on using every resource available there to make a lifestyle change.
“I’ve already been talking to someone today about counseling down on the reservation and detox,” he said. “This was the last straw. I’m done with everything.”
This statement helped convince his sister to be his surety.
“I believe this time he’s serious about trying to change his life, which is why I’m willing to do this,” she said.
Wilde doesn’t have to live with his sister, but does have to notify provincial police within 24 hours of finding somewhere to live and again within one day if he moves. Wilde told the court he plans on checking into a Sarnia motel until he finds somewhere to live.
Pamela Munn, a London-based lawyer brought in as a per-diem assistant Crown attorney to avoid a conflict of interest with the local office, negotiated the terms of Wilde’s release with duty counsel Sarah Edgar, which justice of the peace Pauline Bessegato agreed to put in place. The rules include a ban on contacting four women, including the two female complaints.
“That means no email, Skype, Instagram, no gaming messages – nothing,” Bessegato said.
“Understood,” Wilde replied.
“No Christmas cards, nothing,” she continued.
“No one’s going to be sending me Christmas cards,” he said with a chuckle.
Wilde also can’t physically be within 25 meters of either female complainant or be at where they live, work or go to school.
“That’s been a condition for me for over a year now so definitely understand it,” he said.
There was no order tied to the male assault complainant.
But Wilde is also banned from going to four addresses: two in Corunna, one in Sarnia, and the address he was living at in Plympton-Wyoming. He was granted a one-time exception to go there to collect his belongings, but only under the supervision of uniformed police officers.
His charges were added to January. In the meantime, Wilde is banned from all weapons, with firearms specifically listed.
FALLOUT AT HEADQUARTERS
Sarnia police were asked Friday afternoon for a request for comment on the charges and the impact on Wilde’s job as a police officer. A spokesperson responded with a brief news release that was issued to various local media outlets stating Lambton OPP advised them earlier this week of an off-duty incident involving one of their officers, Const. Wilde.
“Chief Derek Davis has placed Const. Wilde under administrative suspension pursuant to the provisions of the Police Services Act until the investigation and/or any related hearing processes have been concluded,” the statement said. “Inquiries pertaining to the criminal matters should be directed to Lambton OPP.”
A Lambton OPP spokesperson said Friday they will look into the incident and issue a press release if any information is available.
Wilde initially responded to a request for comment via social media, but not to a followup question about the impact of the charges on his job.
This marks the fourth Sarnia police officer – there’s projected to be 124 sworn officers by next year, pending budget approval – to face criminal charges since 2020. One was convicted of breach of trust in August and voluntarily resigned in November. Another officer was charged with break and enter to commit mischief, but that charge was tossed out in June 2021. A third officer was charged with forgery and attempted fraud purpose was cleared in October 2021.
In nearby London, police issued a public safety warning last week about one of its former officers, who was released from custody amid facing eight charges for alleged offenses involving two different women.