Ex-badminton coach faces 23 new charges
A former youth badminton coach is facing 23 new charges in connection with a series of sexual assaults alleged to have taken place between 1970 and 1987 on southern Vancouver Island.
Harry Charles Sadd, 70, was arrested Tuesday on the charges, which involve 12 complainants who were between nine and 15 years of age during that time.
The charges consist of eight counts of sexual assault, six counts of indecent assault upon a male person, three counts of gross indecency, four counts of buggery or bestiality, and two counts of assault with intent to commit buggery.
Sadd is also charged with failing to comply with his bail conditions from Dec. 21, 2016, to June 10, 2017, by being at a public park, schoolyard, daycare centre, playground or other places where people under the age of 18 could be present.
The offence is alleged to have taken place in Saanich.
He is also charged with breaching a no-contact order with one of the complainants on June 3, 2017.
Last August, Sadd was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy in the 1970s.
He was arrested on three counts of indecent assault by a male on a male person, and one count of sexual assault, and released on strict conditions such as staying away from places where children might be present.
Sadd made his first appearance on the new charges in Victoria provincial court on Wednesday. He stood in the prisoner’s box and took a long slow look around the courtroom and the public gallery.
His defence lawyer, David Lyon, asked the case be adjourned until Monday to set a date for a bail hearing.
Prosecutor Liane O’Grady said the Crown plans to seek Sadd’s detention on both the new sexual assault charges and the breach charges. She estimated a bail hearing would take about three hours.
O’Grady asked Victoria provincial court Judge Carmen Rogers to order Sadd not to have contact with about 15 witnesses and victims. Those names are protected by a publication ban.
Rogers said she recognized the name of one of the alleged victims and asked to be disqualified from having anything more to do with the matter.
Because of Sadd’s work history as a teacher in Alberta and other provinces, police believe there might be other victims across the country.
Those accused of historical offences, as Sadd is, are charged based on the Criminal Code at the time the offence occurred.