Moose Jaw lawyer Estes Fonkalsrud confirmed that he will continue to represent Richard Dyke during Moose Jaw Provincial Court on Wednesday.
Dyke, who is facing 73 sexual offences involving minors, was not in court as Fonkalsrud waived his personal appearance.
At a previous appearance on July 31, Fonkalsrud told the court that Legal Aid was reviewing the file after new charges were laid to see if he would stay on record. He confirmed on Wednesday that he received instructions from Legal Aid to proceed.
Fonkalsrud received an adjournment to Oct. 21 for more time to review the disclosure, and he was unsure if more disclosure was coming from the Provincial Crown Prosecutor’s office.
He also asked that Dyke appear via video, saying it is likely that he’ll waive Dyke’s attendance again.
Dyke was originally arrested at a home-based daycare in Assiniboia last November on three counts of sexual assault, three counts of sexual interference, two counts of sexual touching, three counts of making sexually explicit material available to a person under the age of 16, and one count each of voyeurism and possession of child pornography.
At the time, RCMP believed the incidents took place in the mid-2010s involving three male youths under 12 years of age.
The RCMP announced in May that 60 additional charges would be laid against Dyke. Investigators identified 29 additional victims between the ages of 18 months and 17 years, with police saying the offences occurred between 2005 and 2023. It’s alleged that the majority of the victims came into contact with Dyke at home-based daycares.
The charges laid in May included:
- 14 counts of sexual assault
- 14 counts of sexual interference
- Nine counts of voyeurism
- 23 counts of making child pornography