A man accused of sexually assaulting two women in Halifax months after being released from prison said during a Friday court appearance that he doesn’t want to be in the news.
Gamon Jay Leacock, 49, is facing numerous charges, including aggravated sexual assault, unlawful confinement, robbery, and breaking and entering, after two separate incidents in Halifax earlier this week.
According to Halifax Regional Police, a man entered a home on Clifton Street on Monday afternoon and confronted two women with a brick and a broken bottle before confining them in a bedroom and sexually assaulting them. They managed to escape, and the man was arrested shortly after.
Just before the home invasion, police also investigated a carjacking incident that they allege involved the same suspect. A woman was threatened, assaulted and robbed after picking the suspect up.
The alleged incidents happened days after Leacock was released from custody on unrelated charges, and months after he was relocated to Halifax after serving a 14-year prison sentence for sexual assault with a weapon and other crimes.
During a brief appearance in Halifax Provincial Court Friday, Leacock said he is working on finding a lawyer and expects the process to take about two weeks.
Crown attorney Sarah Kirby said the Crown has been in touch with the complainants, who wished to continue having a publication ban on their identities.
Leacock, who appeared in court via video, then interjected to ask if he could also have a publication ban.
“My face is all over the news, right?” he said. “How am I ever going to get a fair trial?”
Judge Ann Marie Simmons explained that the provision in the Criminal Code prohibits anyone from publishing any information that can identify the complainants.
“There is no specific provision in the Criminal Code to put a ban on identifying the person accused of having committed a crime,” she said.
She asked Leacock if he had any submissions to make contrary to the ban on information that would identify the complainants.
“No, I really could care less about that. I get that they want their anonymity,” he responded.
“But at the same time, I kind of want some as well. I mean, I’m going to end up having a trial and my name is in the paper every week.”
Simmons said she understood his concerns, and said he can discuss the matter with his lawyer once he retains one.
“There may be an application that you can talk to your counsel about,” she said. “For today’s purposes, the only authority I have is to continue the ban on publication of any information that would serve to identify any of the … complainants.
“That’s something you should take up with your lawyer.”
“I will,” Leacock replied.
He is expected to make his next appearance in Halifax Provincial Court on Feb. 2.
Previous crimes
At the time of Monday’s incident, Leacock was just a few months out of prison and had been described by police as a high-risk offender.
In 2009, Leacock sexually assaulted a woman at a home in Montreal during an attack that lasted several hours as her partner was tied up.
He served a 14-year prison sentence for sexual assault with a weapon, robbery, forcible confinement and administering a noxious thing.
A 2021 Parole Board of Canada decision determined at the time that Leacock was too high-risk to be released from prison. It outlined instances of him owning a shank while in prison, threatening to stab an officer and behaving aggressively toward female staff.
After his sentence was fully served, Halifax Regional Police notified the public in October 2023 that he was residing in the community.