Citing new information, Crown stays charges against Hugues Latour
Case has been in NWT courts since 2011
The Crown prosecutor's office has decided not to pursue its case against a former Inuvik teacher.
On Aug. 30 in Yellowknife, the Crown prosecutor told the court that the defence came forward with new information about the case. The court also heard that a Crown witness had come forward with new evidence.
As a result the Crown announced plans to stay seven charges against Hugues Latour. These include sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, trafficking marijuana and four counts related to the making and possession of child pornography.
The prosecution believes the new information eliminates any chance of convicting Latour on the charges.
The nature of the new information has not been made public.
Latour has been fighting the charges in court since 2011 and spent more than a year in custody.
He is currently in Ontario. A judge has removed all bail conditions, including restrictions on his use of a computer.
A stay of proceedings is not a finding of guilt or innocence.
The charges could be prosecuted at a later date if new evidence is presented.
The Crown office says the decision to stay the charges is not related to difficulties finding a French-language jury, which have caused delays and a mistrial.
Corrections
- A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that there was alleged video evidence seized in the case that the judge ordered to be destroyed.Sep 03, 2013 2:18 AM CT