A Leduc RCMP officer has pleaded guilty to assaulting two teenage boys in an Airdrie hotel room more than three years ago, a Calgary court heard Tuesday. Const. Bridget Morla was charged in 2024 with two counts of sexual assault stemming from an incident in an Airdrie hotel room in 2022. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed on Dec. 13, 2022, to investigate the alleged sexual assaults that occurred in the early hours of Dec. 3, 2022.
On Tuesday, Morla pleaded guilty to an amended charge of assault involving two victims on Dec. 3, 2022. The victims, who were 16 and 17 years old at the time, cannot be identified under a court-imposed publication ban.
Court Proceedings
Morla appeared in person before Court of King's Bench Justice Nicholas Devlin at the Calgary Courts Centre, while lawyers for both sides appeared by video conference from Edmonton. Crown prosecutor Sandra Christensen-Moore and defence counsel John Benkendorf, legal advisor for the Edmonton Police Service, put forward a joint submission involving the amended count of assault.
Devlin asked Morla whether she intended to plead guilty, to which she replied, “Yes.” Referring to an agreed statement of facts, the Crown said Morla had travelled to Airdrie in early December 2022 to attend a youth hockey tournament.
Details of the Assaults
On the evening of Dec. 3, 2022, several people gathered in a hotel room to socialize and consume alcohol, including Morla and the two teenaged victims. While interacting with the 16-year-old victim, the Crown said Morla “touched his shoulders and thighs” and later “mistakenly grabbed” the victim’s groin over his clothes. All the touching was without the victim’s consent, the Crown said. “He immediately expressed his surprise and discomfort,” Christensen-Moore told the court.
Shortly after, Morla was interacting with the 17-year-old on a bench within the suite when she questioned him about his age. After learning he was 17, Morla stated that “he was legal” and proceeded to tickle the victim’s upper body and place her fingers within the front of his waistband, court heard. “Both physical gestures were without his consent,” the Crown said.
Off-Duty Status and Sentencing
Morla was employed as a constable with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police but was off duty at the time of the assaults, the Crown said. After Morla entered her guilty plea, Devlin made a finding of guilt on the common assault charge. Sentencing was adjourned to September.
