Former Interior Health Chief Doctor Loses Licence Following Child Sex Abuse Conviction

The former chief medical health officer for Interior Health in British Columbia has officially surrendered his licence to practise medicine, more than two years after being convicted of sexually abusing a child in Alberta.

Dr. Albert de Villiers was sentenced to five and a half years in prison in 2023 after a court in Grande Prairie, Alta., found him guilty of repeatedly sexually interfering with a young boy between 2018 and 2020. The abuse occurred over a span of two years and involved multiple incidents, according to court documents.

Prior to his 2021 arrest, de Villiers served as Interior Health’s top doctor in Kelowna, a role he assumed in August 2020. He had previously worked for 16 years as a medical officer of health in northern Alberta.

In addition to the conviction, de Villiers faced separate charges in Alberta, including voyeurism, sexual touching, and distributing sexually explicit material to a child. Those charges were dropped in September 2023, and a peace bond was issued due to challenges in the case, according to Alberta’s Crown Prosecution Service.

This week, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC) publicly confirmed that de Villiers has “voluntarily resigned and surrendered his licence,” effective March 1, 2023. In a notice released Tuesday, the college said he also agreed never to reapply for registration in B.C. or elsewhere.

The CPSBC described his conduct as “egregious” and confirmed that the matter was resolved through a consent agreement, finalized on May 2, 2025. Questions remain about the timing of the public notice, as de Villiers' conviction and resignation occurred over two years ago. The college has not yet clarified the delay.

During sentencing in June 2023, Justice Shaina Leonard said de Villiers used his position of trust to groom and abuse a vulnerable seven-year-old boy, calling his actions “morally blameworthy.”

Interior Health terminated de Villiers’ employment following his conviction. Records show he earned $361,000 during the 2021–2022 fiscal year, despite being placed on leave or desk duty for several months while awaiting trial.