Man expected to change plea in sex assault
Pritchard also awaiting verdict in another sex assault case
ACoaldale man, waiting to learn if he’ll be found guilty of child luring and sexual assault following his trial last month, is expected to change his pleas in a similar case when he returns to court later this week.
Trevor Philip Pritchard pleaded guilty in April to charges of sexual assault and child luring, but he’s expected to ask a judge Thursday to strike his guilty pleas and accept pleas of not guilty.
Pritchard, 35, pleaded guilty in April to sexual assault and child luring against a young teenager, who he met on Facebook. He admitted that on Jan. 17, 2017, the girl agreed to meet him, believing he would take her to a job interview. Pritchard took the girl to his home in Coaldale, however, and forced her to participate in various sex acts. He drove her to her home afterward and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.
The girl told her mother several hours later and she was taken to the hospital for an examination.
In September Pritchard’s lawyer told court the accused decided to withdraw his guilty plea after learning the implications of a Crown application to have him designated a dangerous offender.
Wister told court the accused didn’t understand what would happen if he was designated a dangerous offender and that he could receive an indeterminate term of imprisonment with no parole eligibility for seven years.
Pritchard will also learn next month whether he’ll be found guilty of two counts of child luring and one count each of sexual assault and possession of child pornography, following his trial last month in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench.
Madam Justice J. C. Kubik reserved her decision Nov. 28 at the conclusion of the trial, but she’s expected to give it Jan. 16. If Pritchard is found guilty the matter will likely be adjourned again for sentencing submissions from the Crown and defence.
During trial two young girls testified they knew Pritchard through Facebook and that he asked them to send him naked photos of themselves. And while one girl never met him, the other complainant said she ultimately had a lengthy sexual relationship with him.
Pritchard, on the other hand, said he didn’t use Facebook to lure underage girls into sending him pictures, and he didn’t have a five-month sexual relationship with one of the girls. He said he didn’t know there were some 33 pictures of child pornography on his laptop computer, and he denied having hundreds of sexually explicit Facebook conversations with underage girls.