Former Quinte West hockey coach convicted of majority of sexual assault charges

A former Quinte West peewee hockey coach and YMCA employee was convicted of 11 charges laid against him on Friday.

Tanner Neron’s trial began in early January, with the Quinte court hearing from 15 witnesses throughout the two-week trial.

Neron pleaded not guilty to 14 charges laid against him for incidents of sexual assaults involving minors between 2015 and 2107.

On Friday, Neron was convicted of 11 of those charges:

• Sexual assault
• Possession of child photography
• Exposure
• Four counts of child luring
• Four counts of making sexual material available to a person under 16

Neron was found not guilty of seduction and two other exposure charges.

Throughout the trial, several youths who played on the hockey team Neron coached and who were under his care at the YMCA testified, providing similar evidence that Neron sent photos through Snapchat of his genitals, pornographic links to websites, and pornography.

According to Judge Patrick Hurley, Neron was found guilty of possession of child pornography after investigators found photos of adolescent youths in their underwear on his iPhone and iPad.

Hurley went on to explain that Neron was found guilty of sexual assault after exposing himself to a youth sitting next to him on a team bus trip before touching the youth’s genitals.

Global News spoke to both the Crown attorney, John O’Halloran, and defence, Ruth Roberts, minutes after the judgment was heard.

“I respect the decision and the process,” Roberts said. “This has been a tough time for Tanner and his family.”

O’Halloran told reports he felt “this was a very fair and comprehensive judgement.”

Neron will remain out on bail with strict conditions and will undergo a sex offender and a psychiatric assessment before his sentencing hearing on June 1.