Eric Tillman Pleads Not Guilty

And he didn't even have to be present to be there...

Jana Pruden of the Regina Leader-Post was there not to see Tillman enter the plea in court...

Saskatchewan Roughriders general manager Eric Tillman has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, but defence lawyer Aaron Fox (pictured, thanks Brian Schlosser/Leader-Post)) maintains that "anything" could happen before the matter is set down for trial.

"The options would be anything," Fox told a flock of media gathered outside Regina Provincial Court on Tuesday. "The ultimate option would be actually setting a trial date, but some resolution could take place, and it would be really wrong to speculate what that might be."

Fox entered the not guilty plea in court on Tillman's behalf. Tillman isn't required to be present in court, and he hasn't appeared for any of his previous court appearances.

The case has now been set down for a case management conference on the morning of June 11, and will be back in docket court on June 12.

A case management conference is a private meeting between counsel and a judge, where issues around disclosure, witnesses, exhibits and other matters related to the case are addressed outside of open court.

The procedure is similar to that used to prepare before trials in Court of Queen's Bench, and is increasingly being used in Provincial Court as well.

"This takes place all the time," Fox said. "This isn't the only case that this is happening to in Provincial Court ... it's just you're more interested in this one."
The media are typically barred from pre-trial meetings, where the strengths and weaknesses of a case are discussed candidly by the parties involved. The accused doesn't usually attend the meeting unless he or she is representing themselves.

If the case is going to proceed to trial after the June 11 meeting, Fox said, a trial date could be fixed at that time. Still, Fox left the option open for another outcome.

"Obviously something could happen between now and the June date, and something may come out of the discussions at the June meeting which might lead to a resolution, and that could be anything, so there's always that possibility," he said.

When pressed on what "anything" could mean, Fox would not elaborate.

Because pre-trial conferences are closed, it is somewhat unusual that criminal charges are stayed in those private meetings -- but it does happen.

Tillman was charged with sexual assault in January, after a six-month investigation into a complaint brought forward by a 16-year-old girl last summer.

Asked how Tillman is feeling, Fox said the matter is "certainly causing a degree of anxiety," and said his client would like to see it move ahead.

Sarah Kemmere was there for the television side of things and reports for GlobalTV in Regina by clicking in black...