New counsel, trial dates for sex-crime suspect
Donald Ashley MacPherson, 65, of Noonan, gets new defence lawyer through legal aid on sex-assault charges, but defendant remains self-represented on child-pornography counts
Editor’s note: The defendant in this court report and the journalist covering the case share the same first and last names, but they aren’t related or connected in any way.
A Noonan man who parted ways with his defence lawyer just days before his trial on sex-assault and molestation charges has new counsel and new trial dates - set for next year.
Donald Ashley MacPherson, 65, of Hughes Street in Noonan, was supposed to stand trial Feb. 16 and 20 on six charges - two counts each of indictable sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual exploitation - alleged to have occurred in Fredericton between October 2022 and March 2023.
Those counts involved two underage girls as complainants, whose identities are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.
However, on Feb. 14, Hampton defence lawyer Joshua Adams asked the court to be removed from the record, explaining the solicitor-client relationship had broken down.
Judge Mélanie Poirier LeBlanc granted the motion and cancelled the scheduled trial.