Survivor says Ottawa police mediation left her re-victimized, now doubts new outreach

Keara Dean, who relayed a historic sexual assault to Ottawa police, says the 2023 mediation process made her feel blamed and she worries a repeat request to share her experience will again fall short.

In late 2022 Keara Dean called Ottawa police to report a possible link between a cold-case murder investigation and her own mid-1990s sexual assault in Quebec City. After being shuffled between jurisdictions, she was directed to appear in person in Gatineau, which she declined. The police offered mediation in spring 2023, but Dean entered a locked room with two civilian staff and a professional-standards officer, without the right to bring support.

During the session she was handed a pre-filled withdrawal of complaint form and pressured to sign while still in tears. She refused, kept the document and shared it with media. The force later issued a written apology but did not follow up on her suggestion to aid trauma-sensitivity training.

At a June police board meeting, Chief Eric Stubbs again asked her to speak to officers, a request Dean described as potentially performative given past handling. Deputy Chief Patricia Ferguson said the service had made strides since 2022, but Dean said the lack of genuine change left her skeptical.