Documents reveal more about historical sex charges
A 74-year-old city man accused of historical sexual assault faces 20 charges in connection with incidents that allegedly took place during a 17-year span from 1969 to 1986, according to court documents obtained by The Examiner.
Stanley Willon McBride, of Edinburgh St., returns to Pembroke (Renfrew County) Ontario Court of Justice on Feb. 5 for a preliminary hearing, which determines if there is sufficient evidence to set the matter down for trial before a Superior Court judge.
The son of former city mayor Stanley McBride elected for a judge and jury trial when he last appeared in court on Aug. 16. He is being represented by lawyer Dave McFadden of the George St.-based firm Moldaver & McFadden.
McBride Jr. was first charged last December with attempted sexual assault and administering a noxious substance in a 1983 incident involving a 15-year-old boy at a seasonal property in South Algonquin Township, west of Barry’s Bay.
More charges were then laid Feb. 13 after four men, who were between 17 and 18 at the time of the incidents between 1980 and 1983, reported incidents that happened at the same seasonal property in South Algonquin west of Barry’s Bay, Renfrew County OPP said.
McBride Jr. was then additionally charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault and four counts of administering a noxious substance.
Five more complainants have come forward since. A court-ordered publication ban prevents media from reporting their names.
In total, McBride Jr. faces 11 counts of administering a noxious thing, five counts of sexual assault and two counts each of indecent assault and attempted sexual assault.
Not all of the alleged incidents took place on Algonquin Township. Two counts each of administering a noxious thing and indecent assault in relation to one victim allegedly took place between January 1969 and December 1970 in Scugog Township.
McBride Jr. has been accused, and convicted, of similar charges in the past.
In August 2001, charges of sexual assault and administering a stupefying drug were dismissed after a judge in North Bay Superior Court of Justice ruled there was no proof a sex act between McBride Jr. and a man was not consensual.
The charges stemmed from a November 1998 incident at McBride Jr.’s cabin in the former Sabine Township, now South Algonquin. The man, who was 20 at the time, was the Crown’s only witness during a one-day trial held in June 2001.
The complainant – who said he was hired by McBride Jr. to do chores for him that summer – testified that he accepted the hallucinogenic drug peyote from McBride Jr. He said the drug incapacitated him, rendering him unable to fend off the alleged sexual assault.
Justice Norm Karam, however, ruled there was no evidence supporting that version of events.
In 1988, McBride Jr. – then a public school teacher in the city – was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old Peterborough boy the year before at his cottage near Algonquin Park. He was sentenced to eight months in jail and two years of probation.
Charges of administering a noxious thing and an Ontario Liquor Licence Act charge of supplying alcohol to a person under 19 were dropped.
During the 2001 trial, McBride Jr.’s lawyer, Dennis Fenton, told court his client pleaded guilty because he had been drinking heavily that night and was unable to dispute the boy’s claims.
Det. Const. Lori Birmingham led the most recent investigation. Anyone with information can call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
McBride Sr. was city mayor from 1961 to 1962 and sheriff from 1962 until 1986, when he retired.
A member for the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame for swimming and weightlifting, he died from a stroke in 2005.