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A prominent University of Alberta researcher and his wife are facing charges related to the alleged sexual assault and confinement of a minor, the Journal has learned.8 X1 `& R* C$ n) t5 q; f Z. x$ T
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Zhixiang Wang, 51, is facing one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual contact with a child for offences allegedly carried out between Nov. 2009 and May 31, 2010, court records show.
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) \& {6 |( ~8 h, E; `His wife, Xinmei Chen, 49, is charged with one count of unlawful confinement of a child between May 31, 2010 and Jan. 29, 2013, the records show.% J3 x8 z: f; S3 E: ?
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The same victim, a girl under the age of 16, is listed in both cases.
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v w2 H5 }5 J m+ JBoth were arrested at Edmonton police headquarters and charged on Feb. 14, police spokesman Scott Pattison said in an email. There are no other potential victims, he added.
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Wang, an associate professor in the university’s department of medical genetics, was named a senior heritage scholar in 2000 by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.
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According to an article about Wang in the foundation’s fall 2003 issue, Wang joined the U of A in 1999. He had been studying cell biology of locusts, but according to the article, made the switch to medical-related research in 1994 while pursuing post-doctoral research at the University of Toronto.$ Q, w- Q, Z: L0 K" o
?: ]7 T3 e" A# Y+ Z H, x [At the time, the article says, Wang’s research focused on a protein found in most body fluids that, in high levels, can lead to the development of breast cancer.
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He has numerous academic publications to his name, including several authored with Chen, who is listed on the U of A website as a technician working in Wang’s lab.
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9 j4 z: V) @! l8 S9 G; lWang’s cancer research is considered among the most promising in Canada. In 2005, he was awarded a grant from the Canadian Cancer Society worth more than $350,000. His research explored how overactivity in certain proteins that play an important role in cell growth can be linked to the development of skin and brain cancers.
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; H3 @$ R2 o" y2 ]5 cU of A spokesman Bryan Alary confirmed in an email that both Wang and Chen are university employees currently on leave./ I" V8 s; O" G9 T+ m
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The university considers cases where an employee is charged criminally on a case-by-case basis, Alary said.4 F. t; b# L* X/ Y" i
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“Factors the university would take into account include whether there is a real or perceived connection between the charges and the person’s employment and whether the person’s presence on campus posed a real or perceived danger to the university or members of its community,” he said.( C2 x: q' C- | w% A2 ?2 g2 b x: A
e3 C! V0 ^. |* pBoth Chen and Wang made their first appearance in Edmonton court on Feb. 14 and were released on bail.
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3 ]( x' S# N k* @/ ~5 {Their next court appearance is scheduled for March 13.
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