A 44th court proceeding in the case of Fonthill butcher Richard Lowes ended Thursday the same way the previous 43 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.
The matter has once again been deferred, this time to March 22, meaning that three years have now elapsed since charges were filed.
In the immediately previous proceeding in February, a plea deal seemed to be in the works, with the topic of discussion appearing 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 Lowes' lawyer Mark Evans.
In February, Evans also told the presiding judge said he had “lengthy discussions over the past few months about a resolution” with the Crown.
