Courts -
Sporting a long ponytail, Devon Shane Brandon, 26, appeared at provincial court Friday morning facing six sexual assault charges.
Brandon's case had been adjourned several times dating back to late last year.
He allegedly assaulted several children from the Mistawasis First Nation and was arrested in Lloydminster on Oct. 28 last year after a Canada-wide warrant was issued for him.
At the time of the warrant, Brandon was deemed a transient with no known ties to the Mistawasis community.
Brandon, who also previously used the aliases Raper, Starr and Cameron, faces charges from Ontario and Manitoba as well. One Manitoba warrant was for impersonating a peace officer.
A past Winnipeg Sun article said he was also wanted for allegations of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching of a nine-year-old girl.
Waiving his Manitoba-based charges over to Prince Albert gave his defence lawyer Val Harvey headaches on Friday.
"The Ontario charges were no problem ... Manitoba, it looks like we are back at square one," she said.
She then requested a January adjournment to restart the process of bringing his Manitoba charges to Prince Albert.
Judge Hugh Harradence claimed he worried about such a lengthy adjournment, because Brandon had been on remand for so long already.
He said he had concerns about potential double-time requests, especially because Harvey said Brandon had discussed possibly pleading guilty to his Prince Albert charges.
He noted it was "an inexplicably long delay" and that it was "in everyone's best interest" to deal with the matter quickly.
Even though hastening the Manitoba process was out of Crown prosecutor Jeff Lubyk's jurisdiction, Harradence encouraged him to also get involved in any way possible to keep the case moving.
Lubyk said he understood Harvey's frustration and would help where he could.
Harradence then granted an adjournment until Jan. 14, but encouraged Harvey to bring the matter forward before that, if possible.
Brandon will remain in custody until then.
jpage@paherald.sk.ca
