INNISFAIL - Town councillor Donnie Hill will no longer have to answer in court to a charge of sexual assault.
The 29-year-old local businessman, who was elected in 2017 as Innisfail’s youngest ever town councillor, was told Monday, Aug. 9 that the charge, along with ones of forcible confinement, assault and criminal harassment, were withdrawn in Red Deer’s Court of Queen’s Bench.
A call by The Albertan to the Red Deer Crown Prosecutor’s Office to find out the reasons why the charges were withdrawn on Aug. 9 was not immediately returned.
Hill told The Albertan he “felt a sigh of relief” that closure to the case had come.
“And that I could move on with my life and I didn’t have to wait for the process to keep on taking its place,” said Hill. “It was a sigh of relief that it was finally going to be concluded and we can have some closure.
“My friends and family have been great support through (this) very challenging time. I am human and I have experienced a very large amount of stress through this whole process,” he added. “I knew I was not guilty of these accusations, and it was just basically weathering the storm until the process could be concluded. I had full faith in the system.”
Hill has been facing the serious criminal charges since Oct. 23, 2020. His Court of Queen’s Bench judge and jury trial in Red Deer was scheduled for Jan. 17 to 21 in 2022.
With these serious legal issues now resolved, Hill confidently told The Albertan he is “100 per cent” certain he will seek to get elected for a second term on Innisfail council in the Oct. 19 general municipal election.
