Posted: Mar. 31, 2021 4:00PM | Last Updated: Mar. 31, 2021 9:17PM

CHEK

Warning: This story contains disturbing allegations of sexual assault.

Another realtor in Victoria has been fired following multiple sexual assault allegations.

Prime Real Estate Team and Re/Max Island Properties announced that it has terminated one of its agents after learning of recent sexual assault allegations made against him over social media.

“There have been anonymous allegations made on social media against a realtor from our brokerage and we can confirm that he is no longer associated with our firm and had relinquished his listings at our request after the first allegation last week,” said Susan Froher, the firm’s co-owner, in a statement posted to Facebook.

“Our brokerage also asked him to surrender his license to us.”

Froher said her firm was completely caught off-guard by the allegations and supports victims of sexualized violence.

“As a survivor, I personally know how difficult it is to report sexualized violence and I commend those who spoke publicly to bring an important issue to the community’s attention,” she wrote.

His termination comes after allegations against him were posted on the Survivor Stories Project Instagram account, which shares anonymous reports of sexualized and domestic violence. He now becomes the fourth Victoria realtor to be fired following allegations of sexual assault.

CHEK News is not naming the agent in question as no charges have been brought forward and the allegations have not tested or proven in court.

According to the Survivor Stories Project, a woman claims she had recently started dating the realtor when he pressured her into having sex without protection, ultimately infecting her with herpes. A second woman alleges she blacked out at his house and later woke up to him performing a sexual act on her.

The most recent allegation, shared by the account Tuesday, a woman claims that in 2011 she had recently started dating the realtor and was out one night at a Victoria nightclub with him when after two drinks, she blacked out and later woke up naked at his place.

“He was about to have sex with me and since we’d only been dating such a short time and I was absolutely incoherent. I remember trying to stop him but he kept going,” the post reads. “I finally remember giving in and asking if he had a condom and he said I had nothing to worry about and that he’d been recently tested. I was so out of it and incapable of arguing or putting a stop to it that it just happened and I truly don’t remember anything else until the next morning.”

A few days later, the woman claims she learned from a doctor that she had herpes and that it was given to her by the realtor.

In another Survivor Stories Project post, a woman alleges that after a night out she ended up at the realtor’s home with a male friend.

“I knew these guys well before this night and went there just to have another drink with a couple of buds. I recall sobering up and chatting about current life events.”

The woman, according to the post, alleges her other male friend left after a few hours and the next thing she remembers is waking up as the realtor was performing a sex act on her.

“I remember not being able to move and only being able to use my words to insult him and fight back. He repeatedly told me to close my eyes. I was overwhelmingly tired and knew as soon as my eyelids were to shut I would be passed out again. I kept insulting him until he got off me.”

CHEK News reached out to the Victoria Police Department and the Saanich Police Department to see if they are looking into the allegations.

“We can only confirm an investigation is being conducted when there’s an investigative purpose or a clear risk to the public,” a spokesperson for the Victoria Police Department told CHEK News in a statement.

Michael Mulligan, a criminal lawyer in Victoria, said there is a reason why police departments can’t disclose that kind of information.

“It could have the effect of undermining the investigation or interfering with the quality of evidence they may obtain in the course of their investigation,” he said.

In a statement provided to CHEK News, the Real Estate Council of British Columbia that it is aware of the most recent allegation and that the individual’s licence has been revoked.

“We can confirm that the real estate brokerage has returned this individual’s licence to RECBC, and as a result, he cannot provide real estate services to consumers,” the council said.

RECBC has launched its own investigation into all four real estate agent’s alleged misconduct and said that while the four could technically find work as agents again, they would be subject to a review and possibly a hearing before their licences were reinstated.

“As they are no longer engaged at a brokerage, they cannot provide real estate services to any
member of the public,” the council said. “As there are open investigative files at RECBC into the allegations against these individuals, if any of them were to apply to RECBC to provide real estate services with another brokerage, RECBC would carefully consider whether this would be in the public interest. This could involve a hearing to determine the individual’s suitability.”

Individuals must be licensed by RECBC and must be “engaged” by a licensed real estate brokerage in order to provide real estate services in British Columbia.

None of the allegations against any of the accused realtors have been tested or proven in court.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign launched by a collective of real estate agents aimed at raising money for women who have suffered sexual assault had raised more than $127,000 of its stated $250,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon.

If you have been a victim of sexualized violence, or have any information about the ongoing investigation, you can contact the Victoria Police Department or the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre.

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