Former student says someone hid a webcam in her Royal Military College dorm.
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someone → say → dorm
No one was ever charged
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one → charge → ?
Documents show the military police conducted a voyeurism investigation in 2018
Kelly Stewart was plugging in her phone in her dorm room, planning to let it charge while she was in class at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), when she found a cord she didn't recognize — one she would later trace to a web camera hidden inside the heater in her wall.
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she → show → wall
"My whole body just went completely cold," she said during a recent interview at her home in Kingston, N.S.
Documents obtained by Stewart through Access to Information legislation, and shared with CBC News, show the Canadian Forces Military Police launched an investigation into voyeurism and breaking and entering offences on Oct. 31, 2018 — the same day Stewart discovered the webcam in her Kingston, Ont., dorm room and reported it to her superiors.
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Stewart → go → superiors
The following day, the National Investigation Service — a specialized unit that investigates serious matters — took over her case.
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that → follow → case
According to the documents, no charges were ever laid due to insufficient evidence.
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charges → accord → evidence
Eight years after the alarming discovery — and five years after a firestorm of sexual misconduct allegations in the Canadian Armed Forces prompted a federal review — Stewart is sharing her story publicly for the first time, emboldened by the support for a woman who alleges she was gang raped at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
Stewart posted on social media on Oct. 3, writing that recent events out of Cornell had brought back painful memories.
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events → prompt → memories
"For 8 years I have carried the weight of other people's disgusting actions, failures and systemic sexism.
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I → carry → actions
I owe it to my 20-year-old self to pass that weight off to the men who failed."
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who → owe → men
Stewart files official complaint
Stewart, now 28, believes the investigation into her case was flawed, and though she believes the webcam was put in her room by another student, she says her superiors didn't support her, told her to "toughen up" and suggested her career could be affected by accessing mental health support.
She says her health suffered so much that she ultimately requested a voluntary release, which was granted in September 2019 on compassionate grounds, meaning she was not required to reimburse the government for the cost of her schooling.
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she → file → schooling
In her social media post, Stewart named four people: her former superiors and a military police investigator.
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Stewart → name → people
CBC News is choosing not to name them as there is no suggestion of any legal wrongdoing on their part.
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News → choose → part
The Department of National Defence (DND) has confirmed to CBC News that two of the four individuals have since retired.
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two → confirm → individuals
DND declined an interview, but in a statement said it is aware of claims, but for privacy and legal reasons it doesn't comment on matters involving identifiable individuals.
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it → decline → individuals
Stewart also filed a formal complaint on May 11, 2025, about the investigating officer.
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Stewart → file → officer
The Military Police Complaints Commission confirmed to CBC News that the complaint is being processed.
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complaint → confirm → News
The 2018 RMC investigation
The 335-page military police report is heavily redacted but contains photos of the webcam, handwritten police notes and officer activity logs that shed some light on the investigation.
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that → redact → investigation
Stewart said she initially thought the investigation would reach a successful conclusion quickly.
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investigation → say → conclusion
She felt her immediate, lower-level superiors took her seriously and there was a physical piece of evidence, the camera.
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superiors → feel → evidence
"I found myself a year later with nothing having been actioned," she said.
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she → find → myself
The documents show it took a month to access surveillance footage from the hallway outside Stewart's room, and that there was some confusion around whether an officer had even requested it.
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officer → show → it
Stewart said it took more than four months for the police to seize the suspect's laptop, which she said she witnessed herself.
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she → say → laptop
She believes it was the first time his laptop was taken.
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laptop → believe → ?
Investigative photos that show the inside of Stewart’s dorm room at the RMC.
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that → show → RMC
Stewart says she found the webcam in the heater.
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she → say → heater
The documents show the investigation was formally closed on Aug 14, 2020 because it did not yield enough information to substantiate the elements of the offence.
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it → show → offence
The documents list one "person of interest."
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documents → list → interest
All the information about them is redacted.
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information → redact → them
Stewart said around three months after she discovered the webcam, and after she had moved back into her dorm, a staff member at the college told her that her superiors knew who the suspect was and that he was living a few doors down from her.
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he → say → her
She said the staff member told her he had been told not to give her this information.
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he → say → information
Having to continue living alongside the man she believed violated her was incredibly difficult, she said.
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she → have → her
She said she repeatedly asked her superiors to move the suspect to another building but was told it was not possible — that she could move instead.
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she → say → building
She felt that was unfair.
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that → feel → ?
Stewart said she quit going to class, was afraid to go to the dining hall for fear of running into the suspect and lost a lot of weight.
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she → say → weight
She said a superior told her: "If you want a career in the military, you'll have to get used to being uncomfortable and not getting along with everybody."
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you → say → everybody
Stewart's release records, which she provided to CBC News, state she performed well in all aspects at the college, up until her last semester, when she failed three courses.
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she → provide → courses
Her release records state she was a victim of harmful and inappropriate sexual behaviour and that her release was directly related to that incident.
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release → state → incident
Sexual harassment not uncommon: former RMC student
CBC News has spoken with a male friend of Stewart's, who lived in the same dorm.
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who → speak → dorm
CBC News is withholding his name because he remains a serving member of the military and fears disciplinary repercussions that could affect his career progression.
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that → withhold → progression
He said he believes it was possible for RMC to move the suspect to another building to make things easier for Stewart.
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things → say → Stewart
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
