Hunt back in province

CORNER BROOK - Christopher Roy Hunt appeared in a provincial court room in Corner Brook Monday morning, one week after he was arrested in Alberta and brought back to face 52 sex-related offences filed against him.

The 53-year-old with long, black hair was arrested in Drumheller, Alta. on Dec. 16, five months after an arrest warrant was issued for him at provincial court in Corner Brook on July 15.

Hunt, who was shackled in cuffs and hid his face from the media as he was led to and from court, has an obvious mobility problem which allows him to take only short steps.

His appearance before Judge Catherine Allen-Westby, the judge who issued the warrant in July, was short.

Lynn Cole, the legal aid lawyer who represented Hunt during the court appearance, told the judge her client wants to have a bail hearing, but Cole was not in a position to go ahead with it Monday.

The bail hearing is set to be heard this morning.

The raft of charges against Hunt were laid by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in August 2007, but date back to incidents alleged to have occurred between 1992 and 1994. The charges include sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual exploitation.

All the offences are alleged to have been in relation to one complainant, a girl who was under the age of 14 at the time of the alleged offences.

Hunt already has a prior record for a sexual offence. He was convicted of invitation to sexual touching in September 1992 and sentenced to 45 days in jail and given two years of probation.

Hunt, who was last reported to be living in Oyen, Alta., was arrested nearly 200 killometres away in Drumheller following a tip provided to the RNC of his possible whereabouts. Members of the Corner Brook RNC travelled to Alberta this past weekend to escort him back to Newfoundland and Labrador.