Fredericton man accused of repeated sexual abuse
Joshua Gorman, 37, faces numerous charges alleging sexual offences against the same minor on four different occasions in recent years
A Fredericton man facing 10 counts alleging sexual abuse of an underage complainant between 2020 and last summer will return to court next month to elect mode of trial and enter pleas.
Joshua Gorman, 37, of Dora Drive, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Tuesday for his first appearance on 10 charges, all alleging indictable sexual offences.
He’s accused by the RCMP of the following:
- sexually assaulting a minor, touching that child for a sexual purpose and inviting that child to touch him for a sexual purpose, all between May 1 and June 30, 2020, at Scotch Lake;
- sexually assaulting and touching that same complainant for a sexual purpose between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2021; at Mactaquac;
- sexually assaulting and sexually touching the same minor between Dec. 21, 2021, and July 14, 2022, at Scotch Lake;
- and sexually assaulting, touching and inviting the child to touch him sexually between Aug. 1 and Aug. 31 at Upper Kingsclear.
At the request of Crown prosecutor Nina Johnsen, Judge Cameron Gunn ordered a publication ban on any information that would tend to identify the complainant.
Defence lawyer Emily Cochrane appeared with Gorman on Tuesday as an agent for his counsel, T.J. Burke, and asked for the election of mode of trial and pleas be set over to June 20.
She noted that Gorman has another file scheduled for a first appearance on that date.
Gunn granted the adjournment and set the 10 charges over to June 20.
No mention was made in court Tuesday of the nature of the other pending case.
The Fredericton Independent inquired with the provincial court office about that pending file, and it had no record of it, suggesting the charge or charges hadn’t been laid yet.
You can contact Don MacPherson at ftonindependent@gmail.com.