A Port Coquitlam city employee who is also a Pitt Meadows city councillor was due to appear in B.C. Provincial Court Thursday on sex offence charges.
David Murray is charged with one count each of sexual assault and sexual interference with a person under 14. The alleged incident or incidents date back to 1992 in PoCo.
Murray has worked in PoCo's parks department since 2001 as a maintenance worker, doing plantings, pulling weeds and clearing paths, said PoCo city manager John Leeburn.
"He continues to be employed," Leeburn said. "He's been charged but hasn't been found guilty of anything, so he will continue to be employed."
Leeburn said until the city knows more about the charges, Murray will be assigned to non-public duties and any further decisions will be guided by the applicable labour laws that govern how actions in an employee's personal life affect their employment.
The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News has reported Murray has no intention of stepping down from his role as a Pitt Meadows city councillor while the court case is ongoing.
PoCo Mayor Greg Moore said he has known Murray personally for about 20 years, when he was coaching basketball at Terry Fox secondary.
"I'm shocked," Moore said. "It's hard to fathom anything like this anywhere, especially with somebody you know."
Moore, who is also chair of the Metro Vancouver regional board, said Murray doesn't sit on any committees at the regional level and it's Murray's personal choice whether he steps down from his elected position in the wake of the criminal charges.
It's not the first time a PoCo employee has been in the spotlight for alleged criminal acts.
In early 2007, former mayor Scott Young was charged with seven offences, including assault, break and enter with intent and criminal harassment; he eventually pleaded guilty to three charges and was given a one-year conditional sentence and 18 months of probation.
Moore said he was vocal at the time in encouraging Young to step away from his role in order to minimize the negative attention his personal matters were bringing to the city.
"I believe it was the right decision to step down but it's an individual decision," he said.
Murray has lived in Pitt Meadows since 1987 and was elected to council in 2011.
His bio on that city's website states Murray volunteers with the CUPE Fraser Valley District Council and Fraser Valley Labour Council, sits on the board of directors on the On-to-Ottawa Trek Historical Society, and has served on the executive committees of the Pitt Meadows Soccer Club and Ridge Meadows Minor Baseball Association. He has also coached high school basketball for more than 30 years.
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