Nursing home employee charged with faking credentials and assaulting resident appears in court

Judge Bruce Short stood up and left the room moments before Christopher Power, 44, took his seat at the front of a courtroom in Harbour Grace on Wednesday.

With the judge out of the room, the media were free to roll the cameras on Power, a former employee of a retirement home where it's alleged he sexually assaulted a patient.

Power sat in courtwith a black cloth mask over his face, emblazoned with "Dildo, N.L." on one side and"Me nerves is shot" on the other.

His first appearance was swift Crown prosecutor Alison Doyle said she was still awaiting a criminal record check on Power, and the case was set over until Jan. 13.

When that record check comes back, it will show Power was convicted on three counts of sexual assault in 1998, as was first reported bythe Telegram.

Power is also charged with five counts of forging documentsand one count under provincial health-care legislation ofunlawfully claiming to be a licensed practical nurse.

CBC News asked Power for comment after the brief court appearance.

"Not at this time," hereplied.

A crowded court docket in Harbour Grace on Wednesday morning meant a crowd standing around outside the RCMP building, which houses the provincial court for the Conception Bay North region.

People murmured as Power emerged from the courtroom, elbowing one another and pointing in his direction.

The case has drawn plenty of attention since Power was charged earlier this month. He came under police investigation in August, and was arrested at his home in Brigus on Aug. 16.

Charges were not laid until Nov. 2.

Police say the retirement home has co-operated fully with the investigation.

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