Eric Pohorecky was out of custody awaiting his sentencing hearing after being convicted of sexually touching an 11-year-old girl in 2020.
A Saskatoon man convicted of sexually touching an 11-year-old girl on three occasions in 2020 is nowhere to be found.
An arrest warrant was issued Friday when it was apparent that Eric Michael Pohorecky wasn’t coming to court for his sentencing hearing at Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench, Crown prosecutor Lana Morelli said.
Justice David Gereke said the Crown proved he squeezed the victim’s buttocks while walking past her in his kitchen, reached under a blanket and touched her thigh while she was on his couch and slid his hand across her breasts after reaching over her lap to set down groceries while she was seated in his van.
“Prior to court starting, a family friend had approached me and indicated that Mr. Pohorecky wasn’t at home, that his family wasn’t aware of his whereabouts, and at that point, it wasn’t clear if Mr. Pohorecky had absconded, or whether this was a situation of an accident or self-harm,” he told the StarPhoenix.
Marchand said police conducted a wellness check but couldn’t find him. He couldn’t say if Pohorecky is now considered a missing person.
Morelli said the Canada-wide, unendorsed arrest warrant ensures Pohorecky cannot be released by police if he’s located.
Marchand said he’d been corresponding with his client leading up to the court date, but couldn’t say when he last spoke to him. He said their last conversation was about what to expect at the sentencing, and “this was a surprise for everybody involved.”
“It’s one of those unfortunate situations where there’s a few different possible reasons for why what happened today happened. Some of them are malicious and then others are unfortunate,” Marchand said.
“Nobody knows what has happened or where he has gone, and that’s really all we can say at this time.”
The next month, he was charged with another count of sexual assault and sexual interference after further investigation. One set of charges was stayed at the conclusion of his preliminary hearing last year.
His remaining trials were scheduled for this month, but Morelli and Marchand confirmed they will not go ahead as planned.
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