Valemount’s acclaimed mayor powerless due to sexual assault charge

Valemount’s acclaimed mayor powerless due to sexual assault charge

Published 10:53 am Saturday, October 17, 2026

Owen Michael Torgerson, who ran uncontested for his third term as Mayor of Valemount, has been charged with sexual assault.

When Torgerson can resume his political duties is unknown.

Torgerson’s case came before Judge Cassandra Malfair in Prince George Provincial Court on Friday, Oct. 16. He was not there, but his lawyer, Jay Michi of Kamloops, appeared via videoconference on his behalf.

Malfair agreed to Crown prosecutor Lisa Sukkau’s application for a publication ban to protect the identity of the woman who filed the criminal complaint against Torgerson.

Torgerson’s next appearance, for arraignment, was scheduled for Oct. 29 in Valemount, but Malfair postponed it to Tuesday, Nov. 3 in Prince George, due to media attention to the case.

The Tuesday, Oct. 13-sworn charge information sheet, signed by a justice of the peace, said an RCMP officer in Valemount has reasonable and probably grounds to believe that Torgerson committed sexual assault April 2 at or near Valemount.

A notice on the Village of Valemount website said the Saturday, Oct. 17 municipal election was cancelled because all candidates for mayor and the four council seats had been elected by acclamation.

On his X bio, the 1977-born Torgerson refers to himself as “On Leave Mayor of Valemount.”

Under the NDP government’s amendments to the Community Charter, a member of a council is under mandatory leave of absence if charged under the Criminal Code “for a period that begins on the date of the charge, and ends” the day after the acquittal, discharge or withdrawal of the charge or on the date of conviction.

Since Torgerson is innocent until proven guilty, he is not disqualified from being the mayor.

“While on a leave of absence under this section, the council member continues to hold office but must not exercise a power or carry out a duty as a council member, and is entitled to remuneration and benefits to which the member would be entitled as a council member if the member were not on the leave of absence,” the law states.

In 2025, villagers paid Torgerson $23,143 plus $8,593 in expenses.