Vigilantism victim faces sexual-assault charge

Blake Edward Scott, 37, of McAdam, is accused of assaulting a woman with a weapon and strangling her

A McAdam man who was victimized in a purported case of vigilante justice last summer is now charged with serious crimes himself stemming from an alleged sexual assault last week.

Blake Edward Scott, 37, of Lake Avenue in McAdam, appeared in Fredericton provincial court by telephone from police custody Wednesday afternoon.

He was charged with sexually assaulting a woman while threatening her with a weapon (a flare gun) and with assaulting her by strangulation.

Both counts allege events in McAdam on May 3.

Courtroom No. 5 in the Justice Building in downtown Fredericton. (Photo: Don MacPherson/The Fredericton Independent)

Judge Natalie LeBlanc ordered a publication ban on any information that would tend to identify the complainant.

Crown prosecutor Rodney Jordan objected to Scott’s release Wednesday, and the judge remanded the defendant pending a bail hearing, which she scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

LeBlanc also ordered Scott to have no contact with the complainant while he’s in custody.

Scott was involved in a high-profile case last year, albeit from the other side of the criminal justice system - as a victim.

Billy Lawrence McGillicuddy, 42, of St. Croix near McAdam, pleaded guilty last fall to two counts of assault with weapons on Scott (a baseball bat and a chair) and unlawful confinement.

During his sentencing hearing, court heard that McGillicuddy attacked Scott twice June 4, upset over an encounter between Scott and his teenage daughter in a McAdam pedestrian tunnel.

McGillicuddy assaulted Scott with a baseball bat that afternoon for talking with his daughter, and later, he assaulted him again at the Rockland Drive home of Dwain Everett Gardiner, this time with a chair.

Then Scott was ordered to strip naked and get into McGillicuddy’s truck, but instead, Scott fled the scene, still nude, seeking help at a neighbouring home. 

McGillicuddy was sentenced in November to 18 months in jail, less credit for time spent on remand. He told the court he wasn’t taking the law into his own hands, but rather was a devoted father trying to protect his daughter, whom he said was traumatized by her contact with Scott.

When McGillicuddy was initially arrested, people in McAdam and surrounding rural communities took issue with it, saying he had just taken a stand against a criminal element that had been running rampant in the village.

The case also elicited harsh criticisms of the RCMP. Many residents - including McAdam Mayor Ken Stannix - said the community just wasn’t getting the police coverage and responses it needed in the face of rising crime rates.

Gardiner, 46, also faces charges as a result of the incident at his home. He’s accused of assaulting Blake Scott, pointing a firearm at him, possessing a firearm for a dangerous purpose and unlawfully confining Scott.

He has opted to be tried by a Court of King’s Bench judge and jury, and it’s scheduled to be held in May 2024.

You can contact Don MacPherson at ftonindependent@gmail.com.