McAdam victim of vigilante beating sentenced for sexual assault
On top of his probation, Blake Scott will be included in the National Sex Offender Registry
A one-time victim of vigilante justice in the southwestern New Brunswick village of McAdam has been sentenced to six months in jail, plus probation, for an admitted sexual assault.
On Monday, provincial court Judge Cameron Gunn sentenced Blake Scott of McAdam to six months in jail, plus two years of supervised probation.
However, because Scott has already been in pre-trial custody since May 10, his remand credit means he will not serve any more time for the offence.
Scott was originally charged with committing a sexual assault while threatening to use a flare gun, as well as assault by way of strangling the same victim on May 3.
He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of summary sexual assault.
Supporters
of Billy McGillicuddy showed up outside the Fredericton courthouse
wearing shirts with "#JUSTICEFORBILLY" printed on the front. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
On top of his two years of probation, Scott will be included in the National Sex Offender Registry and must follow orders not to go to the residence or workplace of the victim, whose name is protected by a publication ban.
Scott's sentence comes about a year after Billy McGillicuddy assaulted him with a baseball bat after accusing him of looking at his 11-year-old daughter while she was walking through a tunnel along a walking trail in McAdam.
McGillicuddy's initial court appearances drew crowds of supporters to the justice building in Fredericton, with people voicing support for him for taking the law into his own hands.
Residents at the time framed McGillicuddy's actions as a response to a wave of petty crime in the area, coupled with the perception that police weren't doing enough to address it.
The incident prompted a community meeting between residents and RCMP and provincial officials, which packed the auditorium at McAdam High School.
The RCMP later agreed to start night patrols in the village.
McGillicuddy ultimately pleaded guilty to assault and unlawful confinement and was sentenced last November to 18 months in jail.
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McAdam vigilante victim accused of threatening to use flare gun during sexual assault
Blake Scott was victim at the centre of high-profile vigilante justice case of Billy McGillicuddy
A man who was a victim of vigilante justice has been charged with threatening to use a weapon — a flare gun — during a sexual assault.
Blake Scott, 37, has also been charged with assault by way of strangling the same person on May 3 in the southwestern New Brunswick village of McAdam.
Scott was remanded into custody following a bail hearing in Fredericton provincial court on Thursday and is expected to be back in court to enter a plea on June 1.
The name of the victim and details from the bail hearing are subject to a publication ban.
Last June, Billy McGillicuddy hit Scott with a baseball bat after accusing him of looking at his 11-year-old daughter while she was walking through a tunnel along a walking trail in McAdam.
In an incident later that same day, McGillicuddy struck Scott in the head before throwing him to the ground and kicking him.
Billy McGillicuddy of the McAdam area was sentenced to 18 months in jail for assaulting and unlawfully confining Scott. (Billy McGillicuddy/Facebook)
McGillicuddy then hit Scott twice with a chair before forcing him to strip naked and ordering him to get into his truck.
Scott ran away, still naked, and was let into a neighbour's house, from where he called police.
McGillicuddy pleaded guilty to assault and unlawful confinement and was sentenced last November to 18 months in jail.
McGillicuddy's initial court appearances drew crowds of supporters to the justice building in Fredericton.
McGillicuddy lives in St. Croix but garnered support from McAdam residents, including Mayor Ken Stannix, who said he "wanted to support the individuals who allegedly took the law into their own hands."
Stannix said people in his village were getting frustrated with a rise in property crime, adding that "the criminals are getting away with everything."
Local discontent over petty crime and policing prompted a community meeting with provincial officials and top-ranking New Brunswick RCMP officers, and resulted in the RCMP initiating night patrols in McAdam.
Around that time, Scott said in an interview that he'd been wrongly characterized as a thief. He said he'd been in trouble a few years before for break and enter but served a jail sentence and had not broken the law again.
CBC News asked the RCMP for more information about the charges Scott faces, and in an email, Cpl. Hans Ouellette, a spokesperson, said it would be inappropriate to comment on evidence that may be part of court proceedings.
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