Retired dentist Errol Gaum gets Halifax assault trial adjourned for health reasons

A retired pediatric dentist’s trial on historical assault charges will not be going ahead this month after a Halifax provincial court judge granted his request for an adjournment Wednesday.

Judge Elizabeth Buckle said she was satisfied, based on information provided by the defence, that Errol Franklyn Gaum, 81, is not medically able to stand trial at this point but should be in the future.

Gaum faces one count of assault causing bodily harm and eight counts of assault.

The charges involve six women who allege they were assaulted as children during dental procedures at clinics in Halifax, Dartmouth and Bedford between January 1971 and March 1989. 

The Halifax senior’s trial was supposed to begin Feb. 20 and sit for 10 days.

The hearing has been rescheduled for Oct. 21-Nov. 1.

Gaum was not present for Wednesday’s court proceeding, designating lawyer Stan MacDonald to appear on his behalf.

MacDonald informed the court in writing Feb. 2 that he would be seeking an adjournment for his elderly client. His correspondence included a report from a doctor who said Gaum has experienced recent episodes of panic and anxiety.

On top of that, MacDonald’s letter also advised the court that another person filed a criminal complaint against Gaum in January, and that the accused cannot afford a trial at this time.

“So, I submit there are some compelling reasons for an adjournment,” the defence lawyer said in court Wednesday.

“The most compelling” reason, he said, is his client’s health.

‘He was not himself’

In addition to the general practitioner’s opinion, MacDonald spoke of his own observations of Gaum.

“Over the past few days, my contact with Dr. Gaum has been over the phone, and I must say that his presentation has been very different from how it’s been in the past,” MacDonald said. “He does not seem to be oriented, particularly, at times. On the weekend . . . he was not himself.

“I submit that this is a very legitimate request for an adjournment based on Dr. Gaum’s medical situation as it currently exists.”

Crown attorneys Stephen Anstey and co-counsel Lauren Lindsay did not oppose the request.

Anstey had a conversation with Gaum’s doctor, Ernest Johnson, on Monday.

“The medical information, I think, does give concern that we wouldn’t be able to proceed with the trial, or if it did start, we might not be able to continue,” Anstey told the court Wednesday.

“We have good reason to believe, based on the conversation with Dr. Johnson, that more can be done on a go-forward basis to try to make sure that on a future date, the matter can proceed.”

Anstey said the postponement was “very disappointing” from the Crown’s perspective.

“Work’s been done in preparing everything for this trial, and we would have been ready to proceed, but I don’t think this adjournment (request) is brought inappropriately in any way,” the prosecutor said.

“I think it’s appropriate if the court sees fit, on the health basis alone, to grant the adjournment.”

The financial issue, Anstey said, is “purely between Mr. MacDonald and his client.”

He said the new complaint arose after someone who lives outside the province saw a media report about the case in January, when the judge heard an application by the defence for a stay of proceedings.

The complainant reached out to the Crown, he said, “and we put her in touch with the police.”

Anstey said the woman provided a short statement to police.

“What information we have, we have disclosed immediately to the defence, which is our obligation,” he said. “Obviously, we expect that there may be more (disclosure) going forward.”

He said the new complaint does not justify an adjournment, “but it is one factor that the defence has raised.”

The judge said she had time to think about the adjournment request after receiving the information from MacDonald last week.

“I am prepared to grant the defence request for an adjournment based on the medical issue,” Buckle said.

“I understand from the report and from the presentations today that Dr. Gaum is not medically able to proceed to trial on the dates we have scheduled, but there’s a reasonable expectation that he would be at some future time,” she said.

“Given the proximity of the (trial) dates, I would not have granted the adjournment due to financial reasons, but this will also allow that to resolve, so that’s good.”

Licence suspended

The Provincial Dental Board suspended Gaum’s licence in November 2020, when police opened an investigation after receiving numerous reports that he had assaulted patients over a period of almost 50 years.

Investigators looked into more than 100 complaints before laying 10 charges involving seven complainants in March 2022. The Crown withdrew one of those charges in August 2022.

Five of the complainants allege Gaum slapped them in the face during their procedures. One of those women also says Gaum would restrict her airway, while another says he put his hand over her nose and mouth.

The sixth complainant told police Gaum hit her face against a sink, cutting her chin.

Stay application

Gaum’s lawyers applied for a stay of proceedings, saying it would be impossible for the retired pediatric dentist to get a fair trial because of the passage of time.

Gaum claimed the loss of memory, records and witnesses over the years would critically undermine his ability to challenge Crown witnesses on cross-examination and mount a full answer and defence to the charges. His lawyers said that would be a violation of his right to a fair trial under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

After hearing submissions, the judge decided Jan. 12 that it would be best for her to wait until the end of the trial to rule on the stay application.

“In all the circumstances, I believe that reserving my decision till the end of the trial is the fairest approach, both to the accused and to the Crown,” Buckle said.