Halifax sex offender found not guilty of charges against child

A 59-year-old convicted sex offender from Halifax has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a child.

James Michael Snow was accused of assaulting the child over a three-year period, and faced charges of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching.

But in a Nova Scotia provincial court appearance in Dartmouth that lasted less than 90 seconds Tuesday morning, Judge Frank Hoskins said the Crown had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Hoskins said he will release full reasons for his decision by mid-May.

Snow was arrested in January 2019. Police released few details behind the charges to protect the complainant, who is known to Snow. The allegations dated from 2017 to 2019.

Snow is a convicted sex offender who has been ordered to stay away from children under the age of 14. That lifetime ban was put in place after he was convicted of sexual assault in Kentville, N.S., in 2003.

Prior charges, acquittals

In 2017, Snow was charged with six counts of sexual assault and 31 counts of breaching the prohibition order involving being around children.

The six sexual assault charges stemmed from alleged incidents in Walton, N.S., in the 1980s that involved girls and women between the ages of five and 19. The 31 breach charges involved allegations in 2016 and 2017 that he was near schools, public parks and daycares throughout the Halifax region and one location in Milford.

He was acquitted in late 2019 of the charges related to the Walton allegations. The breach charges were stayed.

In 2017, he was convicted of an indecent act for masturbating in front of an open window at an apartment on Maplehurst Drive in Dartmouth on Valentine's Day in front of a group of children who were sledding.

Snow remains in custody and is due in provincial court in Truro on Wednesday where he faces additional charges, including allegations he breached his prohibition order and exposed himself to a child.