Woodstock Mayor Trevor Birtch chaired his first city council meeting Thursday since three criminal charges—including sex assault with choking—were made public, leaving those calling for him to take a leave of absence from his disappointed political role.
“It was my hope for a statement today saying he is taking a leave of absence to look after the business at hand that he has,” said Diane Harris, executive director of Domestic Abuse Services Oxford and Ingamo Homes, a transitional housing agency for women and children fleeing domestic abuse. “It’s not just what is in the best interest of women and girls in the City in Woodstock and Oxford County, but for all of the citizens of the City of Woodstock.”
During the virtual meeting, several online users accessed the chat feature to call for Birtch, a two-term mayor, to step back from his role as head of Woodstock city council.
Birtch provided no comment about the controversy.
Under Ontario’s municipal law, there’s no requirement for a civic politician facing criminal charges or convicted of them to step aside or resign. Only a jail sentence disqualifies a municipal politician from holding office.
Birtch, 46, was charged by London police two weeks ago, court records show. The allegations all involve the same woman as complainant, whom he is accused of sexually assaulting on Valentine’s Day in 2021.
He also is accused of assaulting the complainant sometime between June 1 and Sept. 30, 2021, and accused of sexually assaulting her with choking between Dec. 10 and 13, 2021, the documents say.
London police took over the investigation at the request of Woodstock police, citing a potential conflict of interest because Birtch sat on the Woodstock police services board, the civilian body responsible for overseeing policing in the Oxford County city.
Birtch, who served as vice-chair of the police board, has stepped down from that board until an investigation is completed by the Ontario Civilian Police Services Commission.
Jennifer Dunn, head of London Abused Women’s Centre, said her agency is seeking to be approved as a delegation at an upcoming Woodstock council meeting with the intention of educating councilors “but specifically the mayor” about violence against women.
“There is no way a man in this position of power for the City of Woodstock should be able to hold his position,” she said. “He should at least have a moral obligation (to step down).”
Birtch and most of his council, half of whom are women, have remained tight-lipped in the wake of the charges, with the mayor saying nothing about them or about his political intentions in an election year,
“That speaks to the pattern of behavior,” Dunn said. “It’s almost as if it’s being pushed under the rug, (as in) ‘Let’s not talk about it.’
“We need to talk about it.”
Woodstock’s integrity commissioner, Goderich-area lawyer Gregory Stewart, says he’s received no formal complaints regarding the charges against Birtch and there is no investigation underway.
“As of now, these are charges. Under our law, a person accused of a criminal offense is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” Stewart said in an emailed statement. “Therefore, even if I received a formal complaint, it would be premature for me to conduct any investigation based on allegations.”
Birtch was first elected as Woodstock’s mayor in 2014 – defeating then mayor Pat Sobeski and former mayor Michael Harding – and was re-elected in 2018, defeating challenger Shawn Shapton by nearly 1,800 votes.