ST. JOHN'S — A retired sergeant with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says she no longer stands by her decision not to charge a man now on trial for more than 70 crimes related to sexual violence against youth.
Sgt. Corinne James told a provincial courtroom in St. John's Thursday that she was working with the force's child abuse and sexual assault unit when she was asked to follow up on a complaint about Anthony Humby in 2007.
Since 2007 the police force has changed the way it investigates sexual assault cases, James said.
“The information, the education, resources, that’s all different today,” she said. “When I review my file now, I have a difference of opinion now than I would have back then.”
Humby was arrested in April 2023 when he was 62. He is on trial for charges involving 12 alleged victims.
James said she brought Humby in for questioning in 2007. He told her he had engaged in sexual activity with a male who produced identification showing he was 20 years old, she said.
James said she did not find grounds to charge Humby and she told him to be more familiar with the people he is sexual with.
A few weeks later, an officer found Humby driving on a remote road around 3 a.m. with three teenage boys as passengers, one of whom was 13.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2025.
The Canadian Press
