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26 charges

Former teacher charged with child sex crimes due back in court May 15

May 1, 2019 | 1:01 PM

The case for a former teacher at Westpark Middle School accused of more than two dozen child sex exploitation-related charges was spoken to briefly Wednesday morning in Red Deer provincial court.

Norman Howes, 61, is due back in court on May 15. He was not present on Wednesday.

Kevin Sproule, acting as agent for Stephen Bitzer, Howe’s lawyer from Calgary, said they are awaiting more disclosure regarding the 26 charges against Howes.

Those charges include multiple counts of sexual contact with a minor, sexual counselling of a minor, making sexually explicit material available to someone under the age of 16, sexual exploitation and several child pornography-related counts.

Five charges were laid in December relating to alleged offences that occurred during the holiday break. Further investigation by police led to more charges.

Howes was fired by Red Deer Public Schools after the district became aware of the allegations against him.

He was previously released on $3,000 bail with several conditions that include not being allowed in the presence of children or youth under the age of 16, except with the written permission of his bail supervisor or in the presence of a responsible adult who is aware of the charges against him.

A Crown prosecutor with the specialized prosecutions branch in Calgary, has been assigned to the case.