A lawyer representing a former Summerland pizza shop employee charged with four sex offences has asked for more time to review the case against his client.
Joshua James Roberts, 38, is charged with sexual exploitation, possession of child pornography, invitation to sexual touching and using a computer to lure a child under 18, plus an additional count of assault with a weapon.
Defence counsel Ryu Okayama appeared before a justice of the peace Wednesday in provincial court in Penticton and asked for more time to look over disclosure from the Crown, which included a thick stack of papers he was handed during the hearing.
The matter is due back in court Feb. 4. Roberts, who was charged in December 2014, has not yet entered any pleas.
He’s alleged to have committed the offences against a person under the age of 18 between March 1, 2011, and Sept. 1, 2013. A publication ban applies to any information that would tend to identify the complainant.
Roberts, whose father created the Murray’s Pizza chain, was the face of the business in the South Okanagan and worked at the Summerland location, but is no longer with the company.