A former Wetaskiwin city councillor is facing charges, after sexual assault allegations were levelled against him, the incidents in question allegedly happened while he was in office.
Joe Branco, 57, was charged with sexual assault in May, RCMP said the incident happened at some point between 2011 and 2014.
Branco served as a councillor for 10 years, before resigning in July, for what the mayor called an unrelated reason.
Recently, he declared his intention to run for mayor.
As for the charges, Wetaskiwin Mayor Bill Elliot said the City didn’t know about them until they followed up on a rumour, and pulled court documents the previous week.
“We still haven’t been officially notified by the courts or the RCMP about it,” Elliot said.
CTV News asked Sgt. Barry Larocque with Wetaskiwin RCMP why the charge against Branco was not formally announced.
“One of the things that the RCMP continually battle with is…an individual’s right to privacy versus the public’s need to know about the crime happening in their communities,” Sgt. Larocque said.
CTV News tried to contact Branco for comment, but calls were not returned.
Branco is scheduled to appear in court September 29, there is a publication ban on the identity of the victim.
With files from Dan Grummett
