Former Moncton teacher facing more than 2 dozen sex-crime charges opts for jury trial
CBC
WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
A former New Brunswick teacher who allegedly sexually abused students has pleaded not guilty and has opted for a jury trial.
Paul J. Maillet, who taught at École Champlain elementary school in Moncton, faces 32 charges.
The charges against Maillet, 76, of Notre-Dame, include gross indecency, indecent assault, buggery, possessing child pornography, sexually touching a minor, sexual assault, distributing an obscene photo, and exposing his genitals.
The charges allege offences in the 1960s, '70s, '80s, '90s and 2003 involving more than a dozen victims.
Monday's court appearance was for 28 of the charges as four others already are set for a jury trial in September.
Maillet, who wasn't present in court, was represented by lawyer Gilles Lemieux.
Lemieux chose trial for Maillet by judge and jury on 28 charges.
Preliminary hearing dates for those charges are expected to be set March 31.
Lemieux said it's a difficult case to schedule partly because of the number of charges.
"But you know, everybody is aware that the provincial court is pretty clogged these days, so we need dates and we need a lot of dates, and that makes it a little more complex scheduling wise," Lemieux told reporters outside the courthouse.
There is a court-imposed publication ban on information that could identify the alleged victims.
Radio-Canada recently reported that Maillet also faces two civil lawsuits that are proceeding separately from the criminal cases. The plaintiffs in court filings allege Maillet sexually assaulted them in the 1970s and 1980s when they were minors.
The first lawsuit was filed in November 2021 in the Court of King's Bench against the provincial government, which it says was responsible for the oversight of public school districts.
