The curtain has been lifted on the identity of a Newfoundland lawyer facing sexual assault charges, after the Supreme Court of Canada declined Thursday to hear an appeal that would allow Robert Regular to continue shielding his name from publication.
Robert Regular, pictured in a 2020 file photo, is facing four counts of sexual assault and one of sexual interference. He has pleaded not guilty. A jury trial is scheduled for next year.
He is facing four counts of sexual assault and one of sexual interference, involving the same alleged victim. She was 12 at the time of the first alleged assault two decades ago. CBC News and CTV News intervened, arguing the ban would interfere with the open-court principle and freedom of the press.In March, Justice James Adams sided with the media organizations.
"This would constitute a sea change in the criminal law. The appropriate authority to make such a change is Parliament, not the court.""In protecting the applicant's reputation by issuing a ban on his identity, the court would be seriously impacting the public interest in encouraging persons with relevant information about similar allegations from coming forward," Adams wrote in his decision.
They argued that releasing Regular's identity risked his presumption of innocence, privacy, and the reputation of other professionals in his field. The Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear arguments from Regular, who wanted a publication ban maintained on his name.
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