McAdam victim of vigilante beating sentenced for sexual assault
A one-time victim of vigilante justice has been sentenced to six months in jail, plus probation, for an admitted sexual assault.
On Monday, New Brunswick provincial court Judge Cameron Gunn sentenced Blake Scott of McAdam to six months in jail, plus two years of supervised probation.
However, because Scott has already been in pre-trial custody since May 10, his remand credit means he will not serve any more time for the offence.
It comes after Scott was originally charged with committing a sexual assault while threatening to use a flare gun, as well as assault by way of strangling the same victim on May 3.
Scott instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of summary sexual assault.
Supporters of Billy McGillicuddy showed up outside the Fredericton courthouse wearing shirts with "#JUSTICEFORBILLY" printed on the front. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
On top of his two years of probation, Scott will be included in the National Sex Offender Registry and must follow orders to not go to the residence or workplace of the victim, whose name is protected by a publication ban.
Scott's sentence comes about a year after Billy McGillicuddy assaulted him with a baseball bat after accusing him of looking at his 11-year-old daughter while she was walking through a tunnel along a walking trail in McAdam.
McGillicuddy's initial court appearances drew crowds of supporters to the justice building in Fredericton, with people voicing support for taking the law into his own hands.
Residents at the time framed McGillicuddy's actions as a response to a wave of petty crime in the area, coupled with the perception that police weren't doing enough to address it.
The incident prompted a community meeting between residents and RCMP and provincial officials, which packed the auditorium at McAdam High School.
The RCMP later agreed to start night patrols in the village.
McGillicuddy ultimately pleaded guilty to assault and unlawful confinement and was sentenced last November to 18 months in jail.
