Having spent the night in the lockup in St. John’s, Todd Gillingham made a brief court appearance Friday and was released with a return date.
His return came quicker than expected, however — he was back before the judge in the afternoon, after nine new charges were laid.
Gillingham, 48, was charged in the morning with a single count of harassing a woman via telecommunications between July 26 and Aug. 2, as well as six counts of breaching previous court orders within the same timeframe. He was released from custody with conditions, including that he have no contact with the woman, that he stay away from the town of Paradise, and that he adhere to a curfew.
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Warrant issued for former hockey star Todd Gillingham
Gillingham was released on another recognizance with similar conditions. He’ll be back in court Oct. 1 to deal with all 16 charges as well as others he has before the courts related to impaired driving, refusing the breathalyzer, failing to attend court, breaching court orders, and violating the province’s Family Violence Protection Act.
In June, Gillingham pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three days time served for violating the same act and disobeying court orders.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Gillingham last spring after he failed to show up at court on two impaired driving charges, and he later turned himself in.
Gillingham played four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and four seasons in the AHL for the St. John’s Maple Leafs as well as for local senior hockey teams before retiring about 10 years ago.
He also worked as a counselor at the province’s youth detention centre in Whitbourne for a short period, and in 2014 founded iTalkNL, a website he described as a support resource for those dealing with mental health and addictions issues.
