Documents obtained by The Counter Signal reveal a senior officer on Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley’s team was charged with soliciting a prostitute in the final days of the Rachel Notley government. Until now these charges have not been reported in the media.
The charges suddenly stayed by Crown prosecutors in the days preceding the election that pushed Rachel Notley out of power.
Benjamin Alldritt was a “Special Advisor” to Premier Rachel Notley during the peak of her reign over Alberta. Despite the charge, following the election Alldritt was kept on staff as a close associate of Rachel Notley, acting as her Director of Communications, according to records published by the Alberta Legislature as recently as this week.
Was the former Premier in the dark?
It is unclear if the former Premier and current Opposition Leader are aware of the charges that were filed against one of her most trusted staff.
The NDP official was charged with violating Section 286.1(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada, meaning that Edmonton Police Service (EPS) believed Alldritt either did obtain or attempted to obtain the sexual services of a man or woman in the sex trade.
The charge was filed by EPS on January 11th, 2019, in the leadup to an election that was critical to maintaining the continued existence of the NDP in Alberta.
Married with children
Alldritt, who is married with children, had a scheduled court date while his boss was campaigning for re-election. For a reason not clear to the public, the charge of soliciting a prostitute was abruptly “withdrawn at the request of the Crown,” without so much as whisper from the esteemed and thorough Alberta Legislative Press Gallery.
The charge was pulled during the NDP re-election campaign, and only weeks before Rachel Notley, her government, and all of its staff were thrown out of the halls of power.
The consequences for being found guilty of this offense carry up to five years in prison and a $2000 fine.
Because the charge was withdrawn, a court never determined whether Alldritt was guilty or not guilty. In the absence of a trial or pleading, he is presumed to be innocent.
Alldritt describes himself on his X profile as a “he/him | parent of a child | spouse of a teacher.” It also mentions that he is a “woodshop and aerospace nerd,” but does not divulge any information about any other pastimes.
The Counter Signal reached out to Alldritt as well as Notley’s other caucus officials regarding this incident but did not receive a response by press time.
The Counter Signal also reached out to the Crown Prosecution Service to ask why the charges were withdrawn, but did not receive an answer by our press deadline.
