Edward LeClair: Pedo seemingly poisons himself in court after being found guilty of child sexual assault
DENTON COUNTY, TEXAS: Edward LeClair, who was found guilty of child sexual assault, has died after drinking a cloudy liquid in court. The 57-year-old man, who was free on bond until the verdict on August 11, was on trial for five counts of sexual abuse.
According to WFAA, LeClair started drinking the liquid while his verdict was getting read out by Judge Lee Gabriel, who was sitting in for Judge Sherry Shipmanin, in the 16th District Court in Denton. The convicted pedophile picked up the bottle and drank the liquid from the bottle as soon as he was found guilty of the first of five counts of child sexual assault against one victim, the incidents which took place in the year 2016. Denton County Assistant District attorney Jamie Beck told CNN, "As these verdicts were being read, he chugged a bottle of water he had at counsel table." He added, while describing the liquid that appeared cloudy, "Our investigator noticed him chug the water. He told the bailiff he might want to go check on him. The bailiff did. He was unconscious in the holding cell." As per NY Post, LeClair’s defense attorney, Mike Howard said, "Shortly after entering the holdover cell, he started vomiting, and emergency services were called."
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Denton County Sheriff's deputies gave LeClair, who was arrested in 2018 with a $30,000 bond, emergency medical attention. LeClair's attorney said, as quoted by Joe, "After EMS transported him, I saw him being taken out on the gurney. His color and pallor didn't look good — gray — and then he was taken to the hospital. Beyond that, that's all I can say." “We have had people who faint, have heart attacks, and had a shooting, but never in my 27 years have we had something like this happen,” Beck added.
As per CNN, preliminary records from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office mentioned that the convicted was pronounced dead at the Medical City Denton hospital at 3.21 pm on August 11. However, an autopsy is in the process as the cause of death is listed as pending as of now.
According to NBC, LeClair, who is a former Navy mechanic and corporate recruiter, was indicted on five counts of sexual assault on a person between the age of 14 and 17. He said he was innocent of the charges. However, the defense attorney Howard said, “With charges like these, if they find a defendant guilty a very stiff punishment is certainly possible.”