By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Trial scheduled for youth respite worker charged with sexual assault

Oct 22, 2018 | 1:28 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A one-week trial has been set for a 27-year-old man facing charges related to alleged sex crimes against four children, but it won’t happen for over a year.

The trial by judge alone will begin Dec. 9, 2019 for the youth respite worker, who cannot be named due to a publication ban.

Both the Crown and defence had been available much sooner, however, the earliest five-day availability in Court of Queen’s Bench wasn’t until November of 2019.

The man was committed to trial following a preliminary hearing in May – which is also covered under a publication ban.

The charges the man has been committed on consist of four counts of sexual assault, four counts of sexual interference, and one count of invitation to sexual contact. They relate to four children with various alleged offence dates between 2010 and 2017.

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: April 19, 2024

6h ago

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: April 15, 2024

Apr 15, 2024

Week-in-review: Street sweeping, policing in Coaldale and #SlowYourRoll

Apr 13, 2024

The accused was initially arrested on Feb. 16, 2017, following an investigation launched by Coaldale RCMP into allegations of offences involving a young person with developmental disabilities. Charges pertaining to the other three alleged victims were then entered by the Crown in August of that year.

The man was terminated from Palliser Regional Schools after the division learned of the charges in February. However, Coaldale RCMP stated that there was no evidence to indicate any of the offences occurred at the school where the man worked.

He is currently out on bail under conditions that he have no contact with children, with an exception for a group whose parents made a special request to the court.