Crown closes case in Robert Regular trial, with defence set to call evidence Monday

The Crown has closed its case in the trial of a Newfoundland lawyer accused of sexual assault and sexual interference.

Prosecutor Deidre Badcock informed the court of that decision at a brief hearing Friday morning, after four days of witnesses taking the stand.

Lawyers for the accused, Robert Regular, asked for a break until Monday.

"The defence will be calling evidence," lawyer Jerome Kennedy said.

If Regular testifies, Kennedy said, that will take proceedings up to the end of next week.

An expert witness is expected to testify for the defence.

Regular, 72, is on trial at Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court on four counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference.

The alleged offences all involve one complainant:a woman who says she was sexually assaulted by Regular four times. She says the first incident took place when she was around 12. There is a publication ban in place on the identity of the woman, who is now in her mid-30s.

Regular has been a lawyer for decades.

He unsuccessfully fought to have his own identity shielded from publication in relation to the pending charges. A judge ruled against that anonymity bid in 2022, after CBC News and CTV News argued it would interfere with the open-court principle and freedom of the press.

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