Convictions overturned in sex-abuse case
New Brunswick Court of Appeal orders new trial for Burton man accused of sexual offences against daughter between 2017 and 2018, ruling decision not to testify at trial wasn’t his
A Burton man deserves another trial on sexual-abuse allegations because his defence lawyer, not him, made the decision that he shouldn’t testify, an appeal court ruled last week.
The 64-year-old man was convicted after trial and sentenced to five years in prison in January 2024 for sexual interference, alleged to have occurred between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 18, 2018.
The complainant in the case was his daughter, who was under the age of 16 at the time. There’s a court-ordered publication ban in effect protecting her identity, and given the relationship, the Fredericton Independent isn’t naming her father so as to comply with the court order.
The Burton man filed an appeal, and a panel of three judges heard his matter in January, and at that time, the court allowed the appeal and overturned his convictions.