Former Acadia prof charged with threats facing new charges for violating release conditions

A former Acadia University professor charged with threatening an employee of the Valley institution has been charged with violating his release conditions.

Rick Mehta, 52, was charged in August with three counts of uttering threats for one incident on Aug. 5 and two on Aug. 10.

The last two alleged incidents happened two days after police began their investigation into the original complaint. Police wouldn’t say at the time how the threats were made.

Earlier this month, Mehta was charged with four counts of failing to comply with his release conditions by contacting someone at Acadia.

Const. Chris Marshall said police were notified by the university alleging Mehta had contacted someone on Sept. 26 by sending documents to the university. He allegedly contacted two people on Nov. 2, and one person on Nov. 15.

Mehta was a professor at Acadia from 2003 until he was fired on Aug. 13, 2018. The university cited a wide variety of complaints against him, including unprofessional conduct, breach of privacy, and harassment and intimidation of students and employees.

Acadia told Mehta, in a letter shared by him, that his termination happened because he wouldn’t acknowledge wrongdoing, take responsibility for his actions, or commit to changes in how he taught and how he interacted with students and other staff.

He has also been ordered not to go on Acadia’s campus.

Mehta appeared in Kentville provincial court Tuesday, where the Crown successfully applied to revoke his previous release on an undertaking to police. He is free on a $1,000 bail order.