Prosecutor urges judge to find ex-hostage Joshua Boyle guilty of assaulting wife

Joshua Boyle speaks to the media after arriving at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Oct. 31, 2017. (Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press via AP)

OTTAWA - A Crown attorney is urging a judge to find former hostage Joshua Boyle guilty of assaulting his wife Caitlan Coleman, saying he used a calculated mixture of kindness and cruelty to ensnare her in an emotional web.

Prosecutor Meaghan Cunningham told Ontario court Judge Peter Doody today that Coleman's credible evidence against Boyle is bolstered by other witness testimony and documentation that paints him as a controlling, dominant husband who instilled fear.

Boyle, 36, has pleaded not guilty to offences against Coleman including assault, sexual assault and unlawful confinement in the period of October to December 2017.

The incidents are alleged to have taken place in Ottawa after he and Coleman returned to Canada following five years as overseas captives of Taliban-linked extremists.

Coleman has testified that Boyle created a list of demands that included an edict she make him ejaculate twice a day, seven days a week, or face "chastising," his word for spanking.

Boyle has denied making such an order, but Cunningham says the list is "akin to a smoking gun" in the case.