A former London police officer with an admitted sex addiction won’t be looking for women on dating websites for the next six months.
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That was the most unusual condition put on Will Stephens, 48, formerly Stephen Williams until a recent name change, when he was sentenced Wednesday to a six-month conditional sentence for sexually assaulting a woman he met online.
Stephens, whose messy romantic life was put on full display during a lengthy trial, must spend 90 days under house arrest, followed by 90 days under a curfew. The sentence was a joint submission from the Crown and the defence.
In addition, Ontario Court Justice George Orsini ordered that Stephens provide a DNA sample and must be fitted with a GPS ankle monitor for the entirety of the sentence.
As part of the six-month sentence, Williams also is prohibited from maintaining a profile or accessing online dating websites “given that, in this case, we’re dealing with someone who has a serious sexual addiction,” the judge said.
At the end of the sentence, Stephens must complete 12 months of probation. He is on another probation order after pleading guilty earlier this week to breaching a condition of his bail order.
But after sentencing, Stephens’ defence lawyer, Cassandra DeMelo, said the case may not be over.
“(He) is naturally relieved that his name was cleared of almost all of the allegations that brought him before the court,” she wrote in an email to The Free Press.
“The fact he was found guilty of a single charge is unfortunate, given the facts found by the trial judge, but (he) looks forward to appealing that decision.”
Stephens was convicted of one count of sexual assault on one woman after a trial that started with 12 sex-related charges involving three women, all of whom cannot be identified under court order. The court heard Stephens was dating two of the women at the same time, unbeknownst to them.
At the end of the trial, Orsini had issues with the credibility of those two women, who were found to be communicating with each other after Stephens was charged. He was acquitted of all charges related to them.
But the judge convicted him on one sexual assault charge involving a woman he met online and who hadn’t been on the dating scene for 15 years. Stephens had told her he was “a motivational speaker with 3M” and promised to “show her the ropes” of dating.
They met in a parking lot, got into his car and engaged in consensual kissing before Stephens put his hands up her shirt and grabbed her breasts, then attempted to put his hands down her pants without consent. After she resisted, he unzipped his pants and indicated he wanted her to perform a sex act before she exited the car.
The woman read a victim impact statement in which she told the judge she was traumatized by the incident, required years of therapy and lost her sense of safety and security. But, she added, she no longer sees herself as a victim and wants Stephens to take responsibility for sexually assaulting her.
“Today I am I no longer a victim of Stephen Williams. I am someone who has found my strength in telling my truth and while the scars of what he did to me will always be a part of my story, they will never define who I am,” she said.
She added while directing some comments to Stephens: “I was made to feel like an object, vilified, manipulated and gaslighted. Stephen, I feel sadness for you. Whatever drove you to assault me was something deep within you. I hope that during your sentencing, you take accountability for what you have done and you seek to change.”
Stephens worked in tool-and-die before entering management, then becoming a police officer. He quit his London police job in October 2021 after walking out of a professional misconduct hearing related to a suspension levied following legal trouble involving another woman.
He had been charged, but that court case ended with a conditional discharge.
He’s now working in management and runs a small renovation company, his lawyer said. “Mr. Stephens acknowledges he has a sex addiction,” she said.
When asked in court, Stephens said he had no comment.
Assistant Crown attorney Nicole Soehner pointed out the assault had a profound effect on the victim.
“One would think, given his former employment, Mr. Stephens would have additional awareness regarding the impact that these kinds of offences have on victims,” Soehner said.
Orsini acknowledged the suffering described by the victim in the wake of the assault.
The nature of the crime might be considered on the low end of the range of sexual assaults, but “the impact that these types of matters have on victims can be and are quite profound and lasting,” the judge said.