Trial of sex offender postponed
Dennis Murphy expected to go to sentencing instead
The trial of a man who was once the subject of a public warning by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary didn’t go ahead in St. John’s as scheduled Tuesday, after the Crown requested a postponement to allow time to track down the complainant.
When the matter of Dennis Peter Murphy was called again in provincial court in the afternoon, the court heard Murphy would likely head straight to sentencing Wednesday instead.
Murphy, 60, is accused of attempting to choke a woman and causing her bodily harm by assaulting her, along with seven charges of breaching court orders.
Sheriffs escorted Murphy, who has been in custody since his arrest last fall, into the courtroom before prosecutor Robin Singleton asked Judge Mike Madden for a postponement so she could find her key witness.
“A number of witnesses are present, but the complainant is not,” Singleton explained.
The woman had been served a subpoena two weeks ago, but had not responded to recent phone messages, she said.
Defence lawyer Ben Curties opposed the postponement, telling the judge a delay would be prejudicial to his client.
Madden adjourned the matter for a status update in the afternoon, at which time Singleton presented him with a letter from the complainant and supporting documents proving she is in self-isolation somewhere other than her home, in preparation for a medical procedure this week. The Crown and defence asked for Murphy’s matter to be rescheduled to Wednesday morning for sentencing, indicating they believed it could be resolved without a trial.
The RNC issued a public warning about Murphy, a registered sex offender, in the spring of 2019 when he was released from Dorchester Penitentiary after serving a sentence for sex crimes against young females. Police said they had reasonable grounds to believe Murphy would commit another violent sexual offence, and noted his prior convictions include sex offences against vulnerable females to whom he had supplied drugs and alcohol.
Parole Board of Canada documents state Murphy has committed a pattern of crimes causing serious harm to children under 18 and to one young girl in particular. The documents note Murphy had served 15 provincial sentences in three provinces; the first of his federal sentences began in the fall of 2009, when he was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenager. The young woman spoke of Murphy punching her in the face, knocking her out, choking her and holding her captive in a vehicle.
Murphy was released from custody with strict conditions after he completed his last sentence at Dorchester in May 2019, including that he abide by a curfew, not possess any weapon or sharp object, not consume alcohol or drugs that weren’t prescribed to him by a doctor, not enter any home where a child lives unless in the presence of their guardian, stay 100 metres away from any park, daycare, school, pool or community centre, and not enter into a romantic relationship or cohabitation with someone who is a parent or cares for a child, among others. The RNC issued the public warning at that point, saying Murphy had moved to Paradise.
Murphy allegedly breached one of his conditions by failing to check in with police within 48 hours. He was arrested and charged, then released to await his court date, before he was arrested again in late September 2020.