New court date set for PM's former bandmate

Phillip Ian Nolan walks out of the Ottawa Courthouse on Thursday February 6,
2014. Nolan, an Ottawa teacher, is charged with five counts each of sexual assault,
sexual interference and sexual exploitation involving two under-age girls.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former bandmate may be considering a guilty plea to child sex raps.

Phillip I. Nolan, 44, was arrested and charged with five counts each of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and sexual interference in February 2014.

Nolan, an award-winning music teacher, was to have appeared in court Monday for a long-scheduled preliminary hearing. That's a hearing in which the Crown has to convince an Ontario Court judge that the prosecution has a plausible case. If the Crown can meet this low burden, the accused is then committed to stand trial in Superior Court.

But Crown prosecutor John Ramsay told the court the prelim wouldn't be going ahead, and that he was hoping to schedule a date where Crown and defence could meet in private before a judge "to enter into resolution discussions."

A resolution may mean a plea or pleas of guilty, but it could also signify that the Crown is considering withdrawing charges.

At this stage, Nolan remains innocent. None of the criminal allegations have been proven or admitted to.

Nolan taught at Avalon Public School in Orléans; his teaching role is at the centre of allegations of inappropriate contact with two underage complainants that allegedly took place between 1998 and 2000.  (more...)

New court date set for PM's former bandmate