Editor’s note: The following story deals with sexual assault and may be upsetting for some readers.
Editor’s note: The following story deals with sexual assault and may be upsetting for some readers.
Sarnia police are searching for a competitive local boxer who has been bobbing and weaving with the courts, and even his own lawyer, since being convicted of sex charges involving an intoxicated underage girl.
An arrest warrant for Blake Loxton, who was a no-show in court, was issued around 3:30 pm Wednesday by Superior Court Justice Kirk Munroe, half an hour after his long-awaited sentencing hearing was supposed to start.
“Let’s bring him back in and I suspect it’ll be sooner rather than later,” the judge said as he signed the warrant.
Despite reaching out to his client in multiple ways, Defense lawyer Ken Marley said he hadn’t seen or heard from Loxton since the previous court date last month. The 29-year-old Sarnia resident and River City Boxing Club member was potentially going to be sentenced on Feb. 15 for sexual assault and sexual interference, but a pre-sentence report wasn’t ready because Loxton hadn’t shown up to scheduled appointments with the probation office.
Marley said Loxton met with probation office staff later that day, but he’s since missed all appointments and they haven’t been able to track him down either. Due to the lack of response to him personally, Marley asked to be removed as Loxton’s lawyer.
“It’s evident from his conduct, I submit, that he no longer wishes to participate in a lawyer-client relationship with me,” Marley said.
But Munroe, who expressed frustration last month over having to adjourn the case to Wednesday, denied the request. He said he didn’t expect Loxton to avoid arrest for long and pointed out he may soon need his lawyer’s help.
“So with due respect, sir, I’m going to decline to entertain that right now,” Munroe said.
When asked by the judge, Marley said he wasn’t aware of any mental-health issues his client is dealing with, although one of Loxton’s friends told him he’s concerned about the boxer.
“It appears that the conviction has hit Mr. Loxton quite hard,” Munroe said. “That’s my read from afar.”
Loxton, who’s been out on bail for about four years, had pleaded not guilty to both charges, but Munroe found him guilty on Nov. 12, 2021, at the conclusion of the boxer’s trial. The judge said at the time it was clear Loxton was going to jail based on the Supreme Court’s landmark 2020 decision on sexual offenses against children.
“And I don’t mean for a couple weeks,” he had said.
The woman, whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban, read a moving victim-impact statement during that same court session. She told Loxton he stole a little girl’s innocence and that she hated having to learn at a young age what a rape kit entails.
The court previously heard Loxton bought alcohol for the victim and had her over to his apartment on a Saturday night more than four years ago. The teen, who was blackout drunk, initially had no memory about what happened but was worried about something sexual had taken place. Her memory was jolted following a police investigation that uncovered male DNA on her clothes.
Loxton had tested during the trial nothing sexual happened, but his story with police was inconsistent, Munroe noted. The Crown, the judge said, proved beyond a reasonable doubt Loxton sexually touched her. The judge added consent wasn’t possible since the victim was younger than 16. She was also extremely intoxicated at the time.