Full parole granted to Interior Health's former top doctor convicted of sexually abusing child

WARNING:THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS REFERENCES TO SEXUAL ABUSE AND MAY AFFECT THOSE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED ABUSE OR KNOW SOMEONE AFFECTED BY IT. _

Albert de Villiers, the former chief medical officer of Interior Health, who was found guilty of sexual interference against a young child in Alberta, has been granted full parole.

De Villiers was found guilty in Grande Prairie, Alta., in February 2023 of repeated sexual offences against a young boy over a two-year period between 2018 and 2020. The judge sentenced him to five and a half years in prison.

Prior to his arrest in 2021, de Villiers worked in Kelowna, B.C., as the top doctor for Interior Health, a position he assumed in August 2020.

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Before working in public health in British Columbia, de Villiers was a medical health office