Trial dates possible in sex crime case
By Lethbridge Herald on October 24, 2023.
Delon Shurtz
LETHBRIDGE HERALD
A former gymnastics coach accused of sexually assaulting several young girls last year could be ready to set trial dates when he returns to court next month.
The matter for Jamie Ellacott was in Lethbridge Court of King’s Bench Monday where his lawyer, Kirsten Lancee of Calgary, said a case management meeting to discuss trial issues had been held earlier in the day.
Crown Prosecutor Michael Fox pointed out counsel for the Crown and defence are now able to to arrange dates for pretrial applications and trials, and the matter was adjourned to Nov. 27 for that purpose.
Ellacott faces four counts each of sexual interference and sexual assault of a person under the age of 16.
He was initially charged in July of last year with single counts of sexual assault and sexual interference after police responded to a report that a seven-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted between May and June of 2022 while attending the Lethbridge Gymnastics Academy in the 3200 block of 32 Street North.
Ellacott was released from custody on that matter with numerous conditions including he not have any contact with the child, and not have any contact or communication directly or indirectly with any person under the age of 16 unless in the presence of a responsible adult.
The following August, police reported three more girls, ages 10, 12 and 14, had also been sexually assaulted during sessions at the gym the previous May, and Ellacott was charged again and released on bail with conditions he not have any contact with the girls or witnesses.
9-8
