Warning: This article contains descriptions and details that may be triggering to some readers. A Beeton, Ont. man facing several allegations of sexually assaulting children about 10 to 15 years ago is currently on trial accused of separate, more recent sex crimes against women. John Wilkinson, 61, was in a Bradford courtroom where the prosecution said it intends to prove Wilkinson was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of sexually assaulting two women in separate incidents between 2017 and 2019. Wilkinson had appeared in court in early February for a preliminary hearing. A judge ruled Wilkinson will be committed to stand trial in the Superior Court of Justice for allegations he sexually violated young girls over several years beginning in 2010 until 2019. Any evidence heard during the preliminary hearing is protected by a publication ban along with the identities of complainants. During trial, the court heard Wilkinson, is accused of touching two women, one complainant said she was slapped between her legs by Wilkinson while attending a funeral for a family friend seven years ago. The woman testified she turned around and saw a ‘smug look’ on the man’s face but did not immediately know who the man was at the time. The complainant testified Wilkinson later touched her chest. The woman said it was not until she saw the man’s face and name on the news that she realized who he was. The complainant Identified the man as the accused in court, John Wilkinson. The trial’s first witness corroborated the complainant’s testimony, telling the court the woman described being assaulted by Wilkinson while at a funeral. The witness said the complainant told her she initially did not know the man’s name but was aware his wife was a police officer. Wilkinson’s wife has been a Peel Regional Police officer for nearly 30 years. The complainant described being “very upset” by what happened to her but only came forward to provincial police in 2024, when Wilkinson had been charged by police for separate historical sex assault allegations made public by the OPP, who had appealed for witnesses and other complainants to contact investigators. At the time of his arrests in the fall of 2024, those in the neighbourhood told CTV News Wilkinson offered to play the ‘tickle game’ with the girls. The complainant at trial testified when she heard Wilkinson was charged by police with sex crimes involving children she came forward, telling the court Wilkinson needed to be “held accountable” for harming children. Wilkinson’s trial resumes in March. His matter committed to trial in the Superior Court of Justice is scheduled for April in Barrie. The historical allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.
