Sex-crime suspect admits to lesser offences
Trial had been set for next week for Donald Ashley MacPherson, 66, of Noonan, on sexual assault, touching charges, but he pleaded guilty to summary counts of assault instead
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 facing allegations of sexual assault and sexual interference involving two underage girls in Fredericton two years ago has admitted to lesser, included crimes of common assault.
Donald Ashley MacPherson, 66, of Hughes Street, was scheduled to stand trial Monday and Tuesday in Fredericton provincial court two counts each of sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual exploitation, involving two minors.
The first set of charges alleged he sexually assaulted one girl, touched her for a sexual purpose and touched her sexually while in a position of trust and authority between Oct. 1, 2022, and Jan. 1, 2023, in Fredericton.
The other three counts alleged similar offences against a second girl in Fredericton between Jan. 1 and March 1, 2023.