More court dates added for Tony Humby as series of pre-trial applications drags on

The Tony Humby case returned to provincial court on Monday morning, but his trial on charges of sexual violence against youths still hasn't begun.

It was supposed to start two months ago, but has been held up by a series of pre-trial applications, which are continuing this week.

Much of the proceedings so far have been held in camera, behind closed doors.

The public was again permitted in the courtroom on Monday.

But lawyers often spoke in generalities about their arguments, which largely relate to information that remains shielded from disclosure.

In the broadest sense, the defence has filed applications seeking more information it believes may be relevant to the case.

The Crown and defence disagree on how matters should proceed.

Humby's trial was supposed to be done by late May.

Now, more dates have been added, which would extend proceedings until the end of June.

Humby has been accused of sexually exploiting and abusing vulnerable teens, going back two decades.

His pending trial is on 72 charges.

Another 15 counts, including human trafficking, are being dealt with at a later date.

There are a dozen complainants in total for those combined 87 alleged offences.

Humby and his neighbour in St. John's, Bruce Escott, were arrested in April 2023.

Escott recently pleaded guilty to seven counts and was sentenced to 13 years.

The agreed statement of facts in Escott's case alleged that the two men worked together to sexually exploit vulnerable youths.

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