A Carbonear man has pleaded guilty to a charge that he advertised to practice medicine, specifically to perform circumcisions, without a medical licence.

Joshua Chubbs, 23, appeared in Newfoundland and Labrador provincial court in Harbour Grace on Friday, where his lawyer said he did not perform any surgeries, despite his offers.

A charge of practising medicine without a licence was dropped.

"In the police report there was reference to him saying that he had done it in the past. I made the point that there was no evidence that had happened, it was not supported by anything," Rosellen Sullivan told CBC News outside court.

Joshua Chubbs leaves Harbour Grace court without comment. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbcnl?src=hash">#cbcnl</a> <a href="https://t.co/pug82vSk8T">pic.twitter.com/pug82vSk8T</a> —@TRobertst

The Crown called Chubbs's actions "profoundly dangerous" but suggested that a $2,500 fine and a period of probation would be an appropriate punishment.

The bizarre story was told by CBC News in March, 2017 when a woman came forward to say that Chubbs had approached her about whether her son, who was under 10, needed a circumcision.

She said Chubbs told her in a Facebook conversation that he had performed the surgery, called a frenulectomy, on his adult friends and could do the procedure in his home, which she described as "a cabin in the woods."

Joshua Chubbs offered to perform circumcision on 7 yr old boy. Lawyer Rosellen Sullivan comments on media scrutiny of case. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbcnl?src=hash">#cbcnl</a> <a href="https://t.co/gOkY8po245">pic.twitter.com/gOkY8po245</a> —@TRobertst

He claimed, she said, to have had some training in urology but left to take a job in a funeral home.

The woman called police and Chubbs was charged in February under the province's Medical Act.

"I don't think it warrants a record of conviction," said Chubbs's lawyer Rosellen Sullivan in court in Harbour Grace on Friday.

She said the media scrutiny of the case has had an impact on her client.

"Every appearance so far, the media has been here, which is unusual for an offence that's not even under the Criminal Code. So I think that anybody who is 23 years old who has had no brush with the law would obviously find it stressful, so of course it's taken a toll."

Sullivan asked for a conditional discharge.

Judge Bruce Short said he wanted to think about it, and set Aug. 31 for sentencing.