A 77-year-old Stratford man facing thirteen charges in connection to historic sexual assaults against children will be the focus of a preliminary inquiry.
The Stratford Beacon Herald reports that while the man’s lawyer told a judge last month that the man would enter guilty pleas in court on Thursday, the lawyer instead asked the judge to schedule a preliminary inquiry.
The lawyer said the inquiry would be “limited” and once finished, there will be “a reconsideration of election.”
In response, the judge scheduled a one hour inquiry for mid-August.
The accused, who can’t be named because of a publication ban, faces charges including several counts of sexual interference, sexual assault, and sexual touching.
Back on January 23rd, Stratford Police announced that they had arrested a man after receiving complaints about alleged historical sexual offences that happened over several years.
The complainants were between four and nine at the time of the alleged offences, according to police, with none of them related to the accused but known to him and put in a position of care with him.
The lawyer for the accused told a judge in early February that his client had been rearrested and released on new charges.
