Man facing sex-related charges to face allegations of breached release conditions
By Herald on November 17, 2020.
Delon Shurtz
Lethbridge Herald
dshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com
A southern Alberta man facing sex-related charges in Court of Queen’s Bench will be in provincial court later this week to face allegations that he breached release conditions on his QB matters.
Gary James Lippa is charged with three counts of failing to comply with conditions, which he was ordered to obey when he was previously released from custody on the sex-related charges.
During a brief court hearing Monday, recently retained Lethbridge lawyer Scott Hadford said he hopes to resolve the breach charges, but first needs to talk to his client, who was arrested in September for the alleged breaches and remains in custody.
“I will see him in the next 24 hours and get instructions to resolve the matters before this court,” Hadford said.
The accused is scheduled to return to provincial court Friday to speak to the charges, which allege he accessed the internet in contravention of his bail conditions on the sex charges.
Lippa, who pleaded guilty in February to charges of sexual assault, child luring and making, printing and publishing child pornography, wants to retract his pleas, and told a QB judge in September he had been “badgered” into pleading guilty. Lippa’s application to set aside his guilty pleas is scheduled to be heard Nov. 26.
Following his pleas in February, court was told the accused dated the mother of the 13-year-old girl he lured into having sex with him. After his relationship with the woman ended, Lippa and the girl lost touch with each other until after she turned 13 in November 2016 and he began texting her graphic, sexual comments and requesting nude photos of her.
In August 2017, the two met several times while she was in Lethbridge staying with friends of the family. On one occasion they went to his residence and had sex.
In September the girl’s stepmother found out she was inappropriately communicating with Lippa online and contacted the RCMP. The girl provided a statement to police and was told to stop communicating with the accused, but he continued talking to her and helped her hide the communications from her family.
After the girl turned 14 Lippa continued to communicate with her sexually, then on Feb. 22, 2018 police arrested him, searched his home, and seized several electronic devices. At first Lippa denied having sex with the girl, but later admitted he did once.
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