A 43rd court appearance in the case of Fonthill butcher Richard Lowes ended Friday morning the same way the previous 42 appearances did: with little to no progress made towards a resolution.
Proprietor of the Country Corner Market, in Fonthill, Lowes was first charged back in March 2021 with three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference with a person under the age of 16. A brief court appearance on Feb. 16 ended with the matter adjourned to March 7, which means delays will officially cross the three-year mark next month. Lowes’ lawyer, Mark Evans, told the judge on Friday that he was unable to reach the prosecutor to set up a CPT, lawyer-talk for a Crown pre-trial, which is a formal meeting between the prosecutor and the defendant's lawyer to discuss ongoing issues.
The topic of discussion appeared to be the terms of the sentence Lowes is facing. The minimum sentence for a sexual assault conviction in Ontario is six months in prison. The other charge facing Lowes, sexual interference with a minor, has a minimum sentence of one year and would also place Lowes on the sex offender registry if convicted.
“The stage we are at now is, I just need to know the exact details of the sentence being proposed, so that I can get specific instructions,” said Evans.
According to the judge, the Crown prosecutor assigned to the Lowes case is also mired in a lengthy homicide trial which is cause for the latest in a long series of delays.
Despite the latest setback, Evans indicated the issue does appear to be heading towards a conclusion. Evans said he had “lengthy discussions over the past few months about a resolution” with the Crown.
