Tony Humby trial faces more delays, as Crown frets about issue that may 'blow things up'

The trial of a St. John's man facing dozens of charges of sexual violence against vulnerable youths has taken another turn, with the potential for proceedings to be held up even further.

"An issue has been raised this week that is potentially going to essentially blow things up, to the point that we are very concerned we're not going to be able to finish this trial in the time that's allotted," Crown prosecutor Deidre Badcock told the court on Friday morning.

The trial was supposed to begin on March 3. But that didn't happen.

Judge Rolf Pritchard granted a defence application to delay the start of the trial to March 18.

The Crown consented. At the time, Badcock said: "We're working on some things behind the scenes over the next couple of weeks."

The case was called early, on Friday morning, to hear another request by the defence for a delay — this time, just one day, pushing the scheduled start to Wednesday of next week.

Humby's lawyer, Mark Gruchy, said a document was disclosed to him that the Crown now says is a privileged police document he shouldn't have received.

Badcock said the "inadvertently disclosed" document contains materials from CSSD, and notes made by police after reviewing the CSSD information. 

The Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development is in charge of child protection in the province.

Gruchy said it's a complicated situation, and asked the judge for time to consider whether he wishes to file an application to have more records produced.

That request was granted, and the case will now return to court on Wednesday.

Crown wants to ensure trial 'stays on the rails'

The Crown, meanwhile, stressed that two weeks have already been shaved off the front end of the trial to try to narrow issues, which now seem to be expanding.

"We're just trying to make sure that this trial stays on the rails," Badcock said.

She said any request by the defence for more records should have been made earlier.

"From our perspective, it's not a new issue," Badcock said.

The trial was initially scheduled to run intermittently for seven weeks, until the end of May.

There are five weeks booked and remaining on the docket for it to start, and finish.

Humby, 64, was arrested by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in April 2023.

His pending trial is on 72 charges related to sexual violence against youths going back two decades.

Humby is also facing an additional 15 charges, including multiple counts of human trafficking.

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

Humby's co-accused, Bruce Escott, 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 for nearly two decades.

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