Former RCMP officer loses appeal on assault conviction sentence

A former P.E.I. RCMP officer will have to go to jail for an assault he pleaded guilty to in 2016.

Jeffrey Rae Gillis was sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years probation last January for an assault committed in February of 2016.

In his appeal, Gillis argued he should have received a conditional discharge and unsupervised probation.

At his original trial, Judge Nancy Orr agreed with the Crown that the seriousness of the offence and the fact that Gillis was a police officer at the time merited jail time. The P.E.I. Supreme Court Justice upheld the original sentence.

Gillis was a police officer at the time, but off-duty when the assault happened. He has since retired.

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