CP24: Toronto's Breaking News

TORONTO — A new trial has been ordered for a man convicted of sexual offences against young girls decades ago.

The Ontario Court of Appeal found the trial judge shouldn't have called the Crown and defence lawyers into his chamber without the accused, Bill Schofield, present.

Schofield was charged with four counts of indecent assault in 2008. The Crown argued he had sexually abused four young girls who had lived in his neighbourhood in the Oshawa area in the early 1970s.

He was convicted of two of the charges and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, but was out on bail pending appeal.

During that mid-trial conference, the trial judge suggested Schofield's testimony was weak, pointed to some problems with the Crown's case, and urged both sides to try to work out a deal, the court noted.

Schofield's appeal lawyer, Brian Greenspan, successfully argued his client's absence from that conversation meant he didn't get a fair trial.

The Court of Appeal rejected a second argument that the initial verdict was unreasonable, which would have led to an acquittal.