Sentencing derailed for man accused of sex assault
Lawyers had agreed to a possible sentence and a statement of facts in the case of a man who had pleaded guilty to 21 charges in Sussex, including sex crimes and break and enter.
But the sentencing ground to a halt at one sentence of his pre-sentence report, which said he took "no responsibility" for the sexual offences he was set to be sentenced for.
The man, 26, of no fixed address, had entered guilty pleas in March to the charges, which included sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon and sexual touching related to a person under 18 and related to four people, three of them minors.
The identities of the victims are subject to a publication ban, and Brunswick News is withholding details which could identify them.
At the time, the facts of the case were not confirmed on the record, and sentencing was set for Tuesday. According to Judge Claude Haché, victim impact statements were arranged, and the man was sent for a pre-sentence report, which is an account of a defendant's background and personal circumstances based on an interview with a probation services officer.
Haché said he did not wish to become tied to the case by hearing evidence, and said he stopped reading after paragraph one of the report and sealed the victim impact statements.
Crown prosecutor Elaina Campbell said they had been preparing a statement of facts, which she would not present. She said that the case remains under investigation and they expect to bring more charges relating to sexual offences.
"The Crown's not dragging their feet at all, this is technological evidence," Campbell said, saying if the man wanted to plead not guilty, they would need three to four weeks of trial.
The man's lawyer, David Lutz, said he had discussions about a possible sentence with Campbell, but that was off the table now. Lutz said his client wanted "to get this over with," but that he couldn't sign off on a "plea of convenience," or an insincere guilty plea aimed at securing a preferred result.
He asked to be removed as the man's Legal Aid-designated lawyer and to be replaced with new counsel. He said his work had been vindicated at the Court of Appeal in recent cases, including a man convicted of a Sussex carjacking who unsuccessfully appealed based on ineffective counsel, but he "can't go on with this."
Haché said the man's "jeopardy is a serious one" with the charges and that he has a right to defend himself. The judge offered the man a chance to change his plea, and the man insisted that he wished to plead guilty.
After Lutz suggested the man wait to proceed until a new lawyer is assigned to take a look at the case, Haché adjourned his sentencing until June 4 to give the Crown time to process new charges and to give the man time to secure a new Legal Aid lawyer.
The man's charges included sexual assault with a weapon and sexual touching related to a person under 16 from Oct. 27 to Nov. 28, two counts of sexual assault and a count of sexual touching related to a person under 16 from Oct. 14 to 31 and two counts of sexual touching as well as uttering threats against a third person between Oct. 14 and 31. He also pleaded guilty to charges of failing to comply with release orders to have no contact with the complainants, not be around people under 18 and reside under house arrest dated from Nov. 19 to Dec. 2.
In March, he was also charged with a count of sexual assault against a woman from Sept. 1, 2018, to Nov. 1, 2022, as well as break and enter at Jubilee Hall Sept. 16. He also pleaded guilty to uttering counterfeit money and using a stolen debit card dating to 2022.
Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Telegraph-Journal
