suspect in child assault, CCTV court appearance

21 year old James Paul, the suspect in child assault against a 6 year old girl from the Paul Band First Nation, has made a CCTV court appearance to answer the charges that were filed against him. During the closed circuit television court appearance Paul’s case was handled by the Stony Plain provincial courthouse. James is still being held in custody and the matter of bail was not addressed during the recent hearing. The charges against James include aggravated assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder and the 6 year old girl is lucky to be alive. The victim can not be identified due to a publication ban and the fact that she is a young minor. On December 20, 2014 the 6 year old girl was found unconscious in the snow, and she had been there for hours after she was brutally attacked by James Paul.

The CCTV court appearance by the suspect in child assault and attempted murder is routine, even though this case is not. After being found the 6 year old was taken to a hospital in Edmonton where she is still recovering from the attack. Paul is being held in the Edmonton Remand Centre, and his attorney was represented by proxy at the hearing when an adjournment was requested. The proxy for the defense attorney also cited concerns about the safety of the defendant while he is in custody, because apparently a lot of people would be willing to do to Paul what he did to an innocent little girl. Paul will have another CCTV court appearance on January 14, 2015.