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A provincial court judge will take guilty pleas from former teacher, volleyball coach and accused sexual predator Markus Hicks and hear an agreed statement of facts in his case next month.
Crown and defence lawyers indicated in court in St. John’s Wednesday morning, May 21, they are in the process of finishing a 32-page agreed statement and hope to present it when the case returns to court ono June 30.
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An agreed statement of facts is a document jointly prepared and signed by the prosecution and the defence that outlines details of the case both sides accept as true.
Hicks plans to plead guilty to some of his 213 charges, though it’s not yet known which ones.
Had been scheduled for trial
Hicks pleaded not guilty to many of the charges last year and had been scheduled for three trials this year.
The first one, due to start in January and last four months, was postponed at the last minute when lawyers told the court they were in discussions over a resolution to the case.
At that time, the defence suggested Hicks would soon be ready to set a date for a sentencing hearing.
As of right now, Hicks still has a 37-day trial on the provincial court schedule beginning Sept. 8.
Hicks — who has always appeared in the courtroom by video from the Bishops Falls Correctional Centre in central Newfoundland — has returned before the judge many times since then, with the case postponed each time to allow lawyers time to finalize their discussions.
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‘We’ll make it work’
The court heard Wednesday that prosecutors Mark James and Lesley Pike and defence lawyers Ellen O’Gorman and Jason Edwards are in the midst of “tying up some loose ends” and will take at least a half day to deal with Hicks’ pleas and read the agreed statement of facts into the court record when the matter returns.
As lawyers sought to coordinate their schedules for that to happen in July or August, Provincial Court Associate Chief Judge Jennifer Mercer encouraged them to arrange for an earlier date.
“We’ll make it work,” she said when James asked if the court had an earlier date available.
“I don’t want to push this out several months.”
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Crown anxious to proceed with case of accused sexual predator Markus Hicks
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Markus Hicks expected to forego trial and head straight to sentencing hearing
Charges of sexual violence against adults and youth
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Hicks, 33, is a former teacher and volleyball coach charged with sexual violence offences against 35 complainants, many of them youth. He’s been in custody since early September 2023.
His charges include child luring, sexual exploitation, sexual assault and child pornography offences, as well as charges of breach of trust.
Other charges relate to impersonation and wearing a disguise while committing a crime, among others.
He’s also charged with at least one count of sexually exploiting a person with a mental or physical disability.
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary investigators say Hicks used at least 27 fake identities, male and female, on social media platforms like SnapChat, Facebook, Tinder, Grindr and others, to communicate and arrange sexual acts with adults and youth as young as 12 years old from across the province.
Police say their investigation, which started in late August 2023, unearthed tens of thousands of images and videos dating back more than 15 years.
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