McAdam man denied bail on sex charge
Blake Edward Scott, 37, faces counts of sexual assault on a woman with a weapon and assault by strangling
A McAdam man accused of a serious sexual offence will remain in custody until the case against him concludes.
Blake Edward Scott, 37, of Lake Avenue in McAdam, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Thursday for a bail hearing.
He faces charges of sexually assaulting a woman while threatening her with a weapon - namely, a flare gun - and assaulting her by strangulation, both alleged to have occurred May 3 in McAdam.
The complainant’s identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban.
Judge Mary Jane Richards presided over the bail hearing Thursday, and she ordered a standard publication ban on the evidence presented at the hearing and the reasons for her ruling.
That ban will remain in place until the case against Scott ends.
Richards ruled Thursday that Scott’s continued detention was justified, and she remanded him again until his next court date.
That will be June 1, when he’s set to elect mode of trial and enter pleas.
Because the weapon used in the alleged sexual assault is categorized as a firearm, Scott faces a mandatory minimum prison term of four years if convicted.
Scott was recently involved in another significant court case recently, but as a victim, not a defendant.
Billy Lawrence McGillicuddy, 42, of St. Croix near McAdam, was sentenced to 18 months in jail last fall after pleading guilty to two assaults on Scott with weapons (a baseball bat and a chair) and unlawful confinement.
Court heard McGillicuddy was enraged after he learned his teenage daughter encountered Scott in a pedestrian tunnel in McAdam on June 4.
McGillicuddy attacked Scott twice that day, first with a baseball bat in the afternoon and again that evening with a chair at the home of Dwain Everett Gardiner.
During the latter incident, McGillicuddy had Scott strip naked and marched him over to his truck, but Scott fled to a neighbour’s home, begging for help.
Gardiner, 46, also of McAdam, faces charges stemming from that June 4 incident at his home as well.
His Court of King’s Bench jury trial on counts of assaulting Blake Scott, pointing a firearm at him, possessing a firearm for a dangerous purpose and unlawfully confining Scott is scheduled for May 2024.
You can contact Don MacPherson at ftonindependent@gmail.com.