BY KEITH LACEY
A Sudbury lawyer who will be represented by one of the country’s
top lawyers on sexual assault charges later this year has pleaded
not guilty to 17 charges.
Pre-trial motions expected to take up several weeks of court
time commenced Monday in the trial against Donald Plaunt, 63, who
was arrested more than two years ago and charged with numerous
historical sex-related charges against young males dating back to
the early 1970s.
Plaunt pleaded not guilty to sex charges over a 24-year period
between 1974 and 1998.
Plaunt is charged with five counts of indecent assault, five
counts of gross indecency, one count of sexual assault, and one
count of sexual interference. He is also charged with
breaching court orders that forbade him to have any contact
with people whose names were contained on a list that was created
when the original charges were filed in the summer of 2003 and
2004.
Justice Frank Caputo of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
ordered a publication ban on any evidence that could in any way
identify any complainant in this matter.
A total of nine lawyers were in court Monday for the start of
pre-trial motions, including lawyers representing the Children’s
Aid Society, the complainants, local school boards and the Ministry
of Community and Social Services.
Prosecuting the case is assistant Crown attorney Paul
Condon.
When the trial against Plaunt begins – a trial date of Sept. 11
has been set – he will be represented by Edward Greenspan, one of
Canada’s top defence lawyers.
Pre-trial defence motions are being handled by Michael Lacy and
his assistant Melanie Dunn.
After Plaunt was arraigned and he pleaded not guilty on all
charges, Caputo invoked a section of the Criminal Code of Canada
calling on all members of the public, including the media, to be
banned from the courtroom while pre-trial motions are being
heard.
Plaunt spent several weeks in jail after originally being charged but has been free on bail for more than two years and will remain free until his trial starts this fall.
