Lincoln man accused of incest

Defendant accused of sexual abuse of son between 2019 and 2023 is being held in custody pending a bail hearing, which was postponed for two weeks Thursday

A Lincoln man accused of having sexual intercourse with his own son remains in custody after he asked to postpone his bail hearing Thursday for a couple of weeks.

The 28-year-old man was charged earlier this week with several offences alleged to involve his own child as a complainant.

While no mention was made of a publication ban in the case during Thursday’s court proceedings, the Fredericton Independent is opting not to name the defendant in anticipation of such a ban and in the interest of protecting the identity of the child.

Courtroom No. 1 in the Justice Building in downtown Fredericton. (Photo: Don MacPherson/The Fredericton Independent)

The four charges - laid by the RCMP earlier this week - allege offences in Lincoln between July 26, 2019, and Aug. 13, 2023.

The first count alleges incest, that the defendant had intercourse with a child “knowing that [the child] was his son by blood relationship.”

The remaining three counts allege the man sexually assaulted the boy, touched him for a sexual purpose and invited the child to touch him for a sexual purpose.

The defendant - who appeared in Fredericton provincial court Thursday by telephone from jail - was scheduled to go through a bail hearing, but duty counsel Edward Derrah said he was seeking to adjourn the bail hearing to develop a release plan for the court’s consideration.

Derrah said he’d also advised the accused to apply to legal aid for defence counsel.

Judge Lucie Mathurin adjourned the bail hearing to Aug. 31 and remanded the defendant again until that time.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.