HALIFAX -- A Halifax-area man pleaded guilty Monday to violating a publication ban in a high-profile sexual assault case.
David Winslow Sparks, 62, was charged in September after police alleged he posted the name of a sexual assault victim on Facebook.
In July 2014, defence lawyer Lyle Howe was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty by a jury of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in March 2011.
Howe's lawyer, Laura McCarthy, has filed an appeal of his conviction. That case will be heard in March.
McCarthy is Howe's wife and she also represented Sparks.
Provincial court Judge Alannah Murphy has asked for a pre-sentence report to be submitted before Sparks is sentenced on March 17.
Outside court, Sparks said he wants to put the case behind him.
"Hopefully, it will be over the next time I'm in court," he said. " Hopefully, it will bring closure."
McCarthy said outside court that she won't have a recommendation for sentencing until she reads the pre-sentence report, but noted that Sparks does not have a criminal record.
Given recent scrutiny publication bans have received in the media, McCarthy said it will be interesting to see how the judge approaches sentencing.
"Is he to be made an example of, or is it a situation where it would be inappropriate to make an example because you're supposed to sentence the individual," she said. "It's up to the judge to decide. It's a very live topic."
