BishopAccountability.org
	Sex Charges Withdrawn Trial of Deacon at Ambassador Church Was to Have Started Today By Jane Sims London Free Press [Canada] May 28, 2007 http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2007/05/28/4215126.html More charges have been withdrawn in the Ambassador Church sex case. William Fletcher, 46, a deacon in the church, was to have begun a trial today on charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation. But instead, assistant Crown attorney James Spangenberg told Superior Court Justice Lynda Templeton the prosecution had no reasonable prospect of conviction and asked the charges be withdrawn. The shocking case began two years ago, centred on the controversial Baptist church at King and Adelaide streets. In February, Fletcher was acquitted of two counts each of sexual assault and sexual exploitation. He pleaded guilty to breaching his bail order and was given a conditional discharge with probation for communicating with a church member at his workplace. His lawyer, Jeanine LeRoy, said her client was “very relieved to have all this behind him.” “I know he has found the whole process of getting to this point very frustrating and financially draining,” she said. One of the other sexual-assault charges in the case was withdrawn by the Crown last July. Brian Fast, 52, an associate pastor, had faced one charge he had assaulted a church member before he was cleared. Two other men were charged in the case. Russell Wilson, 49, a parishioner at the church, is to be sentenced on June 12 after he was found guilty of sexual assault and sexual interference. Head pastor Royden Wood, 56, decided earlier this month he would handle his own defence without a lawyer. He is charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and assault with a weapon. He is also to return to court June 12 for the court to appoint a lawyer to cross-examine the complainants in the case. For the latest local coverage, read The London Free Press on the web or in print. Jane Sims is a Free Press justice reporter.
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