Coaldale man granted hearing as he seeks to withdraw sexual assault, child luring guilty pleas
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LETHBRIDGE – 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 Monday, Sept. 24, Trevor Pritchard’s lawyer, William Wister, argued that 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.”
