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VICTORIA — A councillor for the British Columbia city of Maple Ridge has been charged with four counts of sexual assault involving at least two people, almost a year after the appointment of a special prosecutor to look into his behaviour.
The BC Prosecution Service said in a statement Thursday that Ahmed Antar Yousef Mohamed was charged on the recommendation of special prosecutor Claire Hatcher, who was appointed on Jan. 29 last year.
It said Mohamed was charged Thursday in Port Coquitlam provincial court with three counts of sexual assault, and one further count involving a different person.
His first court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 12.
Hatcher’s recommendations had also seen Mohamed charged last May with assault, pointing a firearm, unsafe storage of a firearm and two counts of disobeying a court order.
On the day he was charged last year, Mohamed wrote in a Facebook post that he would be taking leave “to focus my time and efforts on some personal matters.”
“I hope to take my seat back at council at the earliest possible opportunity,” he said.
The city’s website lists Mohamed as on leave. He was elected to council in 2018 and goes by the name Ahmed Yousef.
The prosecution service said Thursday that Hatcher had concluded her charge assessment in the investigation being conducted by the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment of the RCMP.
“The appointment of a special prosecutor is intended to avoid any potential for real or perceived improper influence in the administration of justice considering the nature of the allegations and the identity of the accused as an elected public official,” the statement said.
The service said publication bans were in effect, but it had decided after consultation with Hatcher that it was appropriate to issue a media statement on the charges.
“As these matters are now before the court neither the special prosecutor nor the (prosecution service) will be releasing additional information or commenting further at this time,” it said.
The service described Hatcher as a senior Vancouver lawyer in private practice. A profile on the website of law firm Johnson Doyle said Hatcher has been a criminal defence lawyer since 2003.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2026.
The Canadian Press
