Former CFL running back Jerome Messam is facing new charges of voyeurism stemming from his time as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
According to a report from Brandon Harder of Postmedia, Messam is charged with visually recording a person who had a reasonable expectation of privacy for a sexual purpose. The alleged incident took place on or about November 1, 2014, in the Regina area. The charges have not yet been proven in a court of law.
Messam is currently serving 18 months probation after pleading guilty to voyeurism charges in Calgary in January 2022. These new allegations, which were brought forth by the victim last year, predate that incident.
According to the facts of that case, Messam engaged in a consensual sexual encounter with a woman in November 2016 and secretly recorded the incident. He later sent four 10-second clips of the encounter to the woman on Snapchat, but did not share them publicly with another party. The adult complainant went to police in April 2018 and charges were laid three months later.
The 37-year-old was a member of the Calgary Stampeders when he committed that offence but had rejoined the Roughriders by the time charges were filed. The Riders released Messam once the information became public and the CFL barred him from signing a new contract with any franchise.
The latest charges stem from Messam’s first stint with the Riders, which lasted from the start of the 2014 season until the CFL trade deadline on October 14, 2015, when he was moved to Calgary.
The six-foot-three, 230-pound ball carrier rushed for 5,689 yards and 34 touchdowns while making 225 receptions for 2,022 yards and two touchdowns over his eight-year CFL career with the Riders, Stampeders, Montreal Alouettes, Edmonton Elks, and B.C. Lions. He was a two-time league all-star, two-time CFL Most Outstanding Canadian, and the Grey Cup’s Most Valuable Canadian in 2017.
