Decision on alleged sexual assault in seniors' home reserved for a month

A provincial court judge has reserved his ruling for another month in the case of a former volunteer atthe Fundy Nursing Home in Blacks Harbour, N.B., who pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting four of the residents there.

Provincial court judge Henrik Tonning had been scheduled to deliver a verdict in the case of 81-year-old Eric Watsonbut said he needed more time.

The matter has been rescheduled for February 16.

A publication ban protects the identities of the alleged victims, who are all now deceased.

The complaints date between 2010 and May of 2016.

During that time, Watson testified that he was a regular visitor to the home.

He said his original purpose in going to the home every other daywas to visit his father there.When his father passed away, he said he continued to visit as a volunteer.

A nurse had testified that she witnessed Watson in the room of one resident in May 2016 where she saw him touch the resident's breast.

Watson denied it.

He told the court the residents in the home, men and women, were just his friends.

He said he would help them to the lunch room or stop and have conversations that would last, on average, about 15 minutes.

On that evening in May2016, Watson said he'd gone to the home to share some birthday cake and had visited one female resident in her room to say good-night.

He said he was bending over her bed to give her a kiss on the forehead when an employee challenged him, and asked him what he was doing.

Watson said he didn't stop to explain himself. Instead, he said he left the nursing home and never came back.

He also told the court that he never received any training about what was or wasn't appropriate conduct as a volunteer in the home.