Guilty plea delayed in brutal sex assault case

CROWN NEEDS TIME TO PREPARE AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS

Guilty pleas anticipated Tuesday by the man accused of brutally attacking and sexually assaulting a woman in Lethbridge late last year have been delayed until the end of the week.

Denzel Dre Colton Bird was expected to enter guilty pleas to charges of aggravated sexual assault and break and enter, but they were adjourned until Friday to give the Crown time to prepare an agreed statement of facts.

“We’re anxious to enter pleas,” defence lawyer Tonii Roulston told court.

Perhaps a little too anxious, however.

Crown prosecutor Erin Olsen said defence was trying to push through the guilty pleas without allowing for due process. She said the Crown needs to prepare an agreed statement of facts to which the accused can agree and sign, and then a date for pleas can be scheduled, which will allow interested parties, including the victim and her family, to attend.

Roulston argued that Bird is prepared to admit to the facts in the case report, which contains the offences alleged by the police. But Olsen pointed out the report is not up to date and lacks Bird’s medical status.

Roulston said once the pleas are entered the court can order two reports; one from a psychological assessment, and the other based on an assessment of the accused’s aboriginal background and personal circumstances. The reports take several weeks, and sometimes months, to prepare.

Bird, who appeared in court by closed-circuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, break and enter and numerous counts of mischief.

On Sept. 30, 2016, police reported a man struck a woman with a weapon and dragged her into an alley in the 2000 block of 6 Avenue South, where he sexually assaulted her.

The victim was discovered by a passerby and taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Bird is expected to plead Friday, even though Crown prosecutor Bruce Ainscough, who has also been working on the case with Olsen, can’t attend the hearing that day. Olsen argued for pleas to be entered earlier in the week, but Judge Jerry LeGrandeur, who also wants an agreed statement of facts, said both prosecutors don’t need to attend a hearing just to receive pleas.

A sentencing hearing will likely be adjourned to another day, which, Roulston suggested, may not be until January of next year to allow time for the preparation of the reports.