A man with ties to Sarnia and London is awaiting his sentence after pleading guilty last week to multiple underage sex charges, but he knows he’ll be heading to prison, his lawyer told the judge.
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Richard Lahey, 49, pleaded guilty May 27 in a Sarnia courtroom to four charges including invitation to sexual touching, sexual exploitation, and two counts of sexual assault. Little can be reported due to a publication ban protecting the identity of the survivor, but the court heard Lahey turned himself to Det. Const. Jordan Laird at Sarnia police headquarters on June 6, 2023, about 10 months after the criminal investigation’s branch launched its probe.
Lahey was released from custody on a police undertaking and has appeared in court various times over the past year before pleading guilty last week to four charges.
“This has been a guilty plea absolutely since Day 1, so there’s no hesitation or no motivation to sort of dodge the consequences, which my client’s well aware of being in the penitentiary,” defense lawyer James Guggisberg told Justice Mark Poland said.
At Guggisberg’s request, Poland ordered a pre-sentence report about his client. The typical turnaround time is two months, but Guggisberg asked for a longer turnaround so his client can save up more money. The case will return to court in July for an update ahead of a sentencing date in mid-September.
“We were really hopeful to have the matter completed in the summertime or near the end of the summer,” assistant Crown attorney Aniko Coughlan told the judge.
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