NOTE: Was able to confirm with Crown that Howes name can still be used
The case of a former Red Deer teacher facing more than two dozen child sexual exploitation charges was in court Wednesday.
Crown prosecutor Caroline Ayres, from Calgary’s specialized prosecutions office, provided an update on the case involving Norman Joseph Howes, 61, a former West Park Middle School teacher.
Ayres told Red Deer provincial court Judge Jim Mitchell that Howes’ Calgary lawyer, Stephen Bitzer, who was not present, had recently received more disclosure evidence and would need time to review the information.
“I think things are progressing,” said Mitchell.
“They are, sir,” said Ayres, who asked the case return to court on June 26. An agreed statement of facts is in the works.
Howes is facing 26 charges, including seven sexual assault counts and numerous child pornography-related offences.
The teacher was fired when the first allegations came to light last December.
He was released under strict conditions previously and was not in court Wednesday.