New trial scheduled in sex-assault case
In decision last month, New Brunswick Court of Appeal overturned acquittal in case of Evan Sandwith, 23, of Rusagonis, for 11 charges alleging sexual offences against minor in 2021
A Rusagonis man will stand trial in 11 months for a second time on indictable charges alleging he sexually assaulted an underage girl in Oromocto four years ago.
Evan Sandwith, 23, of Noble Court, stood trial in 2024 on numerous charges - including counts of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching - all involving the same underage girl in the summer and fall of 2021.
It was a judge-alone trial held before Court of King’s Bench Justice Thomas Christie, who ultimately found the defendant not guilty. The judge said in his ruling that the testimony of both the complainant and Sandwith had credibility issues, and he wasn’t sure who to believe.
The provincial attorney general’s office appealed that decision, and in a ruling issued last month, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal ruled Christie erred in his decision and ordered a retrial.
