Child pornography charges against a youth sports coach with ties to Burnaby have been discharged but voyeurism charges against him will go ahead.
Randy Downes, a Coquitlam resident and Lower Mainland hockey and baseball coach since the 1990s, spent time as a coach with Burnaby Winter Club.
He was arrested and charged with multiple counts of voyeurism and making and possessing child pornography in October 2016, following what RCMP said was a six-month investigation.
At the conclusion of a preliminary hearing in B.C. provincial court in Port Coquitlam Monday, all five counts related to making and possessing child pornography were discharged.
Criminal Justice Branch spokesperson Dan McLaughlin told the NOW it’s the Crown’s job during such hearings to satisfy the court there is enough evidence to send the matter on to a trial.
“In this case, the court concluded that that threshold had not been met and so the court declined to order him to stand trial on those charges,” he said.
Four counts of voyeurism against Downes, however, will go ahead, with Downes scheduled to appear in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on April 26 to fix a trial date.
McLaughlin declined to comment on why – after a six-month police investigation and the approval of the charges – the child porn counts had been discharged.
“As the matter remains before the court, the B.C. Prosecution Service will have no further comment,” he said.
With files from Gary McKenna, The Tri-City News.
