An appeal by Trevor Pritchard to overturn his 2019 convictions has been dismissed by the Alberta Court of Appeal. (Image: Alberta RCMP)

By David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Appeal of child sex-related convictions dismissed for Coaldale man

Oct 18, 2022 | 12:54 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Recent convictions for a Coaldale man will not be overturned.

The Alberta Court of Appeal has denied an application by Trevor Philip Pritchard, 36, in a decision dated Oct. 17.

He sought to appeal his 2019 convictions of sexual assault, computer luring, and possession of child pornography, alleging that trial judge Johnna Kubik improperly limited the scope of expert evidence relating to the reliability of some electronic evidence.

The Crown had argued that Pritchard was luring young girls by utilizing a series of electronic devices. According to the Crown, he used Facebook accounts in his own name and an alias, “Phillip Fieldcamper.” Pritchard denied all allegations and asserted that his devices had been compromised.

While acknowledging that electronic devices can be compromised, Kubik found that there was no evidence of actual hacking or malware.

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Kubik, however, was not satisfied that an expert was properly qualified to conduct a forensic examination of electronic devices and had not undertaken certain necessary tasks. The judge, therefore, limited the weight of the expert’s evidence.

The Appeal Court judges note that, while Pritchard claimed that the communications with underaged girls were not done by him, they contained a significant amount of photos and details about his activities, his house, his dog, his planned move, and other aspects of his life.

They found that Pritchard failed to show any error in the treatment of the expert evidence and ruled that there is no risk of a miscarriage of justice. Pritchard’s appeal was dismissed.

Pritchard has been convicted of sex-related offences against underaged girls in 2004, 2009, 2010, and 2019. Following his most recent conviction, he was given a “dangerous offender” designation.

Pritchard is currently under an “indeterminate sentence,” meaning that he will remain in custody until he can prove that he has taken the necessary steps to significantly reduce his risk of reoffending to the point where he no longer presents a risk to society.

READ MORE: Trevor Pritchard designated dangerous offender with “indeterminate sentence”