Court appearance for Ed John on historic sex charges postponed

A first appearance in Prince George court for Indigenous leader Ed John on sex-related charges dating back more than 40 years has been postponed.

First set for Dec. 10, then for Jan. 15, it has been delayed to Feb. 26, B.C. Prosecution Service communications counsel Dan McLaughlin said Wednesday.

In November, the BCPS said John is accused of having sexual intercourse with a female without her consent in 1974 and that special prosecutor Michael Klein was appointed in February to look into allegations of sexual offences in and around Prince George involving one person.

Klein has approved four counts against John for incidents are alleged to have occurred between March 1 and Sept. 15, 1974.

John is a former leader of the First Nations Summit and former B.C. cabinet minister. He is also

a hereditary chief of Tl'azt'en Nation in northern B.C. and a lawyer who holds honorary doctor of laws degrees from the University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Victoria.

John completed his eleventh consecutive term as an elected leader of the First Nations Summit's political executive in June 2019. He did not seek re-election but continued as an advisor on contract with the organization, one of the largest Indigenous organizations in the province.