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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.3 q6 y% [, M3 S! ?
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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.7 X! I* |' g5 u7 m+ h" \
/ a: a ], M" r! j" j0 RHis 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.
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% p" |$ J6 @) H: y/ N, z! W: SThe same victim, a girl under the age of 16, is listed in both cases.1 R& ?8 `; C" Q6 Y3 k V
/ i0 }% y9 M3 P7 i k \# EBoth 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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2 u6 p8 y. B4 b, w6 ]# |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.
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: |& x. L) Z" f) ?% n( Y8 a7 SAt 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.' M+ R7 \/ o# v
/ e/ S7 Z7 v/ MHe 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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2 r) W( y3 x' j$ z2 \' QWang’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 $350,000. His research explored how overactivity in certain proteins that play an important role in cell growth can be linked to the development of skin and brain cancers.
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" A+ q$ i0 d8 p# eU of A spokesman Bryan Alary confirmed in an email that both Wang and Chen are university employees currently on leave.) G: O8 u% F6 S# e0 ]2 g( @
1 F( x: j) b# R% L. J B: e: bThe university considers cases where an employee is charged criminally on a case-by-case basis, Alary said.& y, m0 F' A( m% t9 M/ f4 _
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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.4 T$ @! [" G$ C' z$ o% d* u
/ b. K( m& J0 r9 m- Z! P* ~Both Chen and Wang made their first appearance in Edmonton court on Feb. 14 and were released on bail.) |% p8 i' o9 f
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Their next court appearance is scheduled for March 13.
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