A local journalist facing a charge of unlawfully luring a child under the age of 16 by means of a computer made his first appearance in provincial court Thursday morning.
Kevin Kelly — a senior editor with The Herald magazine — had the case set over to Jan. 14, at which time he is expected to have a lawyer.
As a few reporters took his picture, the 41-year-old hung his head as he sat in Courtroom No. 7 waiting for proceedings to start.
He was represented in court by duty counsel Jane Fitzpatrick. She and Crown prosecutor Shawn Patten indicated to Judge Greg Brown that it’s undetermined whether or not the case will be considered indictable, in which a stiffer penalty would be imposed if he’s convicted.
Kelly is not in custody.
While police would not release details about the case, The Telegram learned the charge was laid as a result of Kelly reportedly sending inappropriate messages to a teenage girl on Facebook.
He was said to have been sending the messages over a five-week period. A complaint was formally made to police last January.
Kelly is, perhaps, best known among the local music community, as he regularly covers the entertainment beat.
He is also a former board member of Music NL and has been named Music NL's media person of the year on several occasions.
Originally from Marystown, Kelly lives in St. John’s.
He worked as a researcher in the House of Assembly — a government role while the Liberal party was in power — and was a DJ for CHMR-FM, Memorial University's radio station. Kelly is also a past judge for Miss Teen Newfoundland.
rgillingham@thetelegram.com
Twitter: @TelyCourt
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