Security Company Pleads Guilty After Woman's Rape

 Garda Canada Security Corporation has pleaded guilty in a case where a lone female guard was raped on a work site. The lone worker, who cannot be identified, was sexually assaulted by intruder Renno Lonechild over a twenty minute period after she contacted Garda dispatch for assistance and was transferred to 911. The rape took place overnight at an unsecured construction site in the Calgary, Alberta area. The guard had only been on the job one week at the time, and was sent to the site when a co-worker called in sick. Lonechild has been convicted, and faces eight years in prison. Because a corporation cannot be given jail time for an offence, Garda will be fined instead. They are expected to pay $90,000, of which roughly $5,000 will go to the employee herself.

Failure to Ensure Employee Safety
 Under Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) companies are required to conduct risk assessments, and to take measures to ensure employee safety, particularly in the case of individuals working alone. Security guards are among several groups of workers identified as being at greater risk when working alone. Experts say this case, which according to Crown prosecutor Alison McGill is the first of its kind in Alberta and perhaps all of Canada, highlights the need to tighten up enforcement in the area of lone worker safety and to prosecute employers that fail to conduct hazard assessments or ensure employee safety.