Pictou County man pleads guilty to sex assault, making child porn

A 20-year-old Pictou County man has pleaded guilty to several sex assault and child pornography charges.

Brett Andrew MacBeth, of Westville, changed his plea Dec. 11 to most of the charges he is facing in Windsor provincial court.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and two of making child pornography in Hants County in 2016 and 2017. The charges involve two victims he sexually assaulted while recording the assaults.

Two charges of sexual touching will be withdrawn.

MacBeth also pleaded guilty to one charge of possession of child pornography in 2017. He had originally been charged with three counts covering three different time periods, but that was reduced Dec. 11 to one charge covering all the dates.

Defence lawyer Chrystal MacAulay told Judge Ronda van der Hoek that she and Crown attorney Brandon Trask have a joint recommendation and did not require a pre-sentence report, but that the sentencing would have to be adjourned for a victim impact statement to be completed.

Trask said that while victims in the case had initially opted not to file statements, one person has changed their mind and wants to do so.

Trask said he hopes that can be done in about a week. He said he would like the opportunity to meet with the victims to discuss the statement.

MacBeth was arrested in October 2017 when police searched a Westville home.

The case started out in February 2017 as an investigation into possession of child pornography. The alleged assaults were discovered in the course of that investigation after MacBeth’s arrest.

MacBeth has been held in custody since his arrest. He will be sentenced later this month.