A man of no fixed address will spend time in custody for sexual offences involving an underage girl.
Darren Earl Publicover, 40, pled not guilty Feb. 14, 2012 to charges of sexual assault, sexual touching involving a girl under the age of 16 and counselling a person under the age of 16 to touch Publicover’s body for a sexual purpose.
The matters were put to trial on Nov. 28 and Publicover was found guilty of the three offences. The matters were adjourned to Dec. 12 for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
Judge Claudine MacDonald entered a judicial stay on the sexual assault charge and sentenced Publicover to a total of 30 days in custody on the other two counts, followed by one year of probation.
The court granted a DNA order against Publicover, imposed a 10-year Sex Offender Information Registration Act order against him and granted a discretionary three-year order under Section 161 of the Criminal Code. This order prohibits Publicover from engaging in certain activities or attending certain locations that may bring him into contact with people under age 16.
A publication ban has been placed on the name of the victim or any information leading to her identity.
Publicover committed the offences in Berwick between Dec. 20, 2011 and Feb. 8, 2012.
