Samuel and Madelaine Emerson’s plea date has been pushed for the fifth time since their first court date in December.
While Crown counsel has stated they have been ready to arraign since Nov. 21, defence counsel asked for a three week extension due to a heavy caseload.
The plea date was first pushed back to allow Samuel Emerson to retain new counsel, and then an additional three times to give his lawyer more time to review the case. The Emerson’s new court date is March 15, 2018.
This is the first time the couple’s bail arrangements have changed since their first court date in December.
Their original agreement with the police used language that did not follow court standards. That language has been changed, and several additions were made, including: they must agree to keep the peace and they must provide their address to the court, as well as notify them of any changes.
The couple has also been granted supervised visits with their own children and their niece and nephew, as long as they have permission from the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Otherwise, they continue to be prohibited from having contact with anyone under 18 years of age.
Samuel Emerson, 34, was formerly a pastor of Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Church. In early October, Surrey RCMP announced that he had been charged with 13 counts of sexual assault, 11 counts of being in a position of authority and touching a person for a sexual purpose, and one count of sexual touching of a person under the age of 16.
Madelaine Emerson, 37, was charged with one count of sexual assault, one count of being in a position of authority and touching a person for a sexual purpose, and one count of threats to cause death or bodily harm.
The alleged assaults happened between 2015 and 2017. Surrey RCMP received several allegations of sexual assault against Samuel Emerson and his wife Madelaine on May 17, 2017, and the South Surrey couple – who have five children – were arrested the next day. Information about their arrest was released in October, 2017.
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editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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