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Markus Hicks, a former St. John’s teacher and volleyball coach sentenced to 18-and-a-half years for numerous instances of sexual assault and child luring, has filed an appeal.
According to court documents, the appeal calls Hicks’ sentence “clearly unreasonable and demonstrably unfit” and argues Provincial Court Chief Judge Robin Fowler wrongly limited the value of Hicks identifying a person related to another sexual assault in a guilty plea.
Hicks was convicted on 53 of the 54 charges placed against him — including 13 counts of sexual assault, six counts of luring a child, using a disguise, possessing and accessing child pornography, sexual exploitation and breach of trust.
Hicks used several Snapchat profiles to lure youths to his Paradise home, and was found with over 34,000 photos and 11,000 videos showing potential sexual abuse.
Many of the victims who came forward were students or people who trusted Hicks in his role as a teacher, the court heard over his trial.
In his appeal, Hicks and defence lawyers Jason Edwards and Ellen O’Gorman said Fowler didn’t properly consider mitigating factors when sentencing Hicks — and instead put undue emphasis on aggravating factors.
Court documents didn’t say when Hicks’ appeal would be heard.
With credit for time served, he has approximately 14.4 years left in his sentence.
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