Former Halifax-area school principal headed to trial on historical sex charge
A former school principal with the Halifax Regional Centre for Education has pleaded not guilty to a historical charge of sexual assault.
Steve Hutchins, 59, of Cole Harbour is accused of sexually abusing a girl at a home in Lucasville in 1991.
Lawyer Don Murray entered the not-guilty plea Tuesday in Halifax provincial court on behalf of Hutchins, who was not present.
Judge Christine Driscoll scheduled Hutchins’s trial for Oct. 11, 2024, and Jan. 3, 2025.
RCMP announced this past November that Hutchins had been charged with historical sex assaults in Halifax Regional Municipality involving two young people.
Police opened an investigation last June after a woman reported she had been sexually assaulted as a child at an elementary school in Eastern Passage in the late 1980s.
In July, a second woman came forward, alleging she was molested as a child in Lucasville in the 1990s.
Hutchins faces two charges — sexual assault and sexual interference — in Dartmouth provincial court in relation to the Eastern Passage allegations.
Police allege those offences were committed between Jan. 1, 1988, and Jan. 1, 1990. Those charges are due back in court Feb. 20 for election and plea.
The identities of both complainants are protected by publication bans.
According to a profile on Linkedin, Hutchins started working as a teacher with the former Halifax Regional School Board in August 1987 and became a principal in August 2013.
He was principal of Seaside Elementary in Eastern Passage for the 2022-2023 school year.
Halifax Regional Centre for Education spokeswoman Lindsay Bunin said in November that Hutchins was no longer employed with the centre and “has not been present in any school this academic year.”
She would not say whether Hutchins resigned or was fired.
“We recognize this news is both shocking and upsetting,” Bunin wrote in an email. “The safety, security and well-being of all students remains our highest priority. Anyone who feels they may need support is encouraged to reach out to their school principal, vice-principal or school counsellor.”
