Coaldale man granted hearing as he seeks to withdraw sexual assault, child luring guilty pleas
A Coaldale man who pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and child luring earlier this year will get a chance to convince a judge that he should be allowed to withdraw those pleas.
In delivering in their application in Court of Queen's Bench in Lethbridge on Monday, Trevor Pritchard's lawyer William Wister argued his client didn't fully understand the implication of the guilty pleas when he entered them in April under different legal counsel.
That implication, Wister explained, was the dangerous offender application the Crown is now pursuing.
"Dangerous offender applications, if they're granted, have the capacity to restrict somebody for an indefinite period of time in custody, which is an extraordinary remedy, as provided under the Criminal Code [of Canada]. It is the most serious form of restriction on people's freedom, and we value freedom in our society," Wister told members of the media following the appearance.
"There's an obligation to determine, as I said in court, that [Pritchard] fully understood the implications of that," continued Wister. "You have to look at people's mental capacity, what they understood — not so much what's being said, but what do they take away from it."
While addressing the court, Wister also said a psychiatrist found Pritchard lacks the capacity to understand complex matters. He explained that in a hearing to withdraw the pleas, he would likely call that psychiatrist to testify and potentially several of Pritchard's former lawyers.
Wister concluded that the proper way to proceed in this case would be to remove the guilty pleas and have the matter go to trial.
After hearing those submissions, as well as a suggestion from special prosecutor Donna Spaner that the defence application be dismissed, Justice Rodney Jerke decided a hearing was necessary.
"In high-stakes situations we need to be very careful," said Jerke. "I'm not sure there are higher-stakes than what this man is facing … I think, in fairness to the accused, there needs to be a hearing."
Jerke stated that he didn't have any concerns while accepting Pritchard's guilty pleas in April — it was noted by Spaner that he asked Pritchard three times if he understood what he was agreeing to — adding the onus will be on the defence to convince him that they should take a step back in the process.
The hearing is expected to take three days to complete and will be scheduled Oct. 22.
Guilty pleas
Following the two guilty pleas from Pritchard on April 9, an agreed statement of facts was presented to the court.
It was admitted that Pritchard met the 15-year-old victim on Facebook and they started communication via text message.
On Jan. 17, 2017, she agreed to meet him in person, believing that he would take her to a job interview.
Pritchard instead took the girl to his home in Coaldale, told her, "The interview was not going to happen," then forced her to participate in various sexual acts. After, he drove her home and said he would kill her if she told anyone.
The girl told her mother about what had happened hours later, and after speaking to police, she was taken to the Chinook Regional Hospital for a sexual assault examination.
After those allegations came to light and Pritchard was first charged, police asked others to come forward. It was at that time that two girls under the age of 16 contacted police — resulting in the trial by judge alone that is scheduled for November.
Pritchard has three prior convictions for sexually assaulting adolescent girls in 2004, 2009 and 2010.
With files from Lethbridge News Now.
