Former Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Atlantic Canada president Peter Moorhouse has pleaded not guilty to various child pornography charges.
Moorhouse, 48, entered the plea through a lawyer at Shubenacadie Provincial Court on Thursday morning.
According to the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service, the charges are:
- Possession of child pornography;
- Making, printing, publishing or possessing child pornography;
- By means of telecommunication, agreeing with or making arrangements with a person to commit an offence with respect to a person under the age of 16 years;
- Accessing any child pornography.
Moorhouse was charged in February following the search of a 35-year-old man’s home in Enfield, which was conducted after police received a complaint.
As a result of the search, Carlos Ayapal Gonzalez Moraga was charged with sexual interference and making child pornography.
In the days that followed his arrest, the BBB announced its board had unanimously voted to terminate Moorhouse’s employment with cause.
Moorehouse’s next scheduled appearance is a pre-trial conference on Jan. 31, 2022.
His trial is currently scheduled for July 4, 7, 8 and Aug. 8, 2022.
Moraga has also pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in June and July of 2022.
Both men were ordered to stay in Nova Scotia, to not communicate with each other, and to keep away from places where people under the age of 18 are likely to be.
–With a file from Graeme Benjamin