Potential dangerous offender application process continues for Coaldale man

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A long-term offender designation entails conditions that allow authorities to monitor an offender after their release from custody for a maximum of 10-years, similar to a probation order. A dangerous offender designation on the other hand, allows for an offender to receive an indeterminate term of imprisonment in a penitentiary, with parole ineligibility for seven-years.

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Meanwhile, an almost three-week trial that Pritchard has scheduled for this coming November was also addressed Monday. In that case, he faces two counts of sexual assault, two counts of child luring, and one count of possession of child pornography.

It was confirmed that Pritchard’s new defence counsel, Bill Wister, will be proceeding with the trial that was originally set by another lawyer last year. They did however, change Pritchard’s election from trial by judge and jury to trial by judge alone. It was acknowledged that they will be holding a pre-trial conference in the coming weeks, at which time they will discuss shortening the length of the trial, as judge alone trials tend to require less time.

History of the case

In relation to the guilty pleas in April that led the Crown seeking the dangerous offender designation, it came at what was supposed to be the outset of a trial.

Pritchard admitted that he met the victim on Facebook and that they had been communicating 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 set for November.