Northern Ont. man loses guns in sexual assault case plea deal
A northern Ontario man accused of attacking and sexually assaulting a woman in the Town of Cobalt has taken a plea bargain and is avoiding jail time.
The plea and sentencing hearing was held Tuesday morning by online video with Justice Julie Richard presiding in Haileybury court.
Gregory Bate was originally charged with sexual assault and two counts each of assault and careless storage of a firearm and ammunition.
Instead of going to a jury trial for two weeks starting June 3, Bateman pleaded guilty to harassing communications and unsafe storage of firearms on Tuesday in a joint submission with the Crown.
As a result, the assault and sexual assault charges were dropped.
The bald man from Cobalt, Ont., appeared by video from a room in his lawyer's office wearing a pink button-up dress shirt and a dark-coloured sports coat.
In the agreed statement of facts, the court heard he made repeated phone calls to the victim leaving some derogatory and threatening voice messages between April 1, 2019, and May 15, 2020.
When the accused was arrested, police searched his home and found a firearm on a bed with a loaded magazine.
Officers ended up seizing a rifle and shotgun along with ammunition from his home.
As part of his punishment for the unsafe storage of a firearm conviction, he has to forfeit the items seized, pay a $750 fine and is under a firearms prohibition.
He has been out on bail since he was charged.
Richard also accepted the joint sentence recommendation of two years of probation for the harassing communication charge.
Crown attorney James Rumleskie said the victim was consulted prior to the joint submission.
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The accused may not contact the victim or be within one kilometre of where she is known to be and must participate in assessment and counselling.
Cobalt is a small town on Highway 11 south of Temiskaming Shores near the Quebec border with a population of less than 1,000 people.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, the punishment for harassing communications and careless storage of a firearm is imprisonment of not more than two years for each charge.
Support for survivors
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