OTTAWA – Joshua Boyle, the former hostage who is now facing 15 criminal charges, made a brief court appearance before the case was put off until next week.
Boyle’s minutes-long appearance on Wednesday morning was made by video from the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, where he is currently in police custody.
The case will be back in Ottawa court on Monday, Jan. 8, allowing the Crown, and Boyle’s legal team more time to discuss the potential evidence that will be presented, and the bail process.
Boyle, 34, is facing eight counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault and two counts of unlawful confinement. He also faces one count each of misleading police to "divert suspicion from himself," uttering a death threat, and administering a noxious substance, namely Trazodone.
Defence lawyer Eric Granger told CTV News that he is "eager" to see the evidence against his client. Granger works at the same firm as high-profile Ottawa criminal lawyer Lawrence Greenspon, who is also expected to be involved in the case.
"This is an individual obviously we all know has been through a lot, is an individual otherwise who hasn’t been in trouble before, and he’s presumed innocent of these charges," Granger told CTV News on Tuesday.
Boyle’s charges stem from alleged incidents that took place between Oct. 14— shortly after Boyle and his family returned to Canada—and Dec. 30, 2017, when the charges were laid.
There is a publication ban in place, which prevents publication of any information that could identify the alleged victim(s) or witnesses. A second publication ban is in place on aspects of the bail process.
At the time of the arrest, Boyle and his family were living in a downtown Ottawa apartment.
Boyle, his American wife and their three children were brought back to Canada on Oct. 13, 2017 after the couple was abducted in Afghanistan five years ago. The pair had three children while being held captive by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.
Upon the family’s return to Canada, Boyle alleged that their captors raped his wife and caused her to miscarry a baby girl, an allegation the Taliban denies, according to the Associated Press.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the Boyles in his Parliament Hill office on Dec. 18, a meeting that came to light after a Twitter account named "The Boyle Family" posted photos of the meeting.
A senior government source speaking on background said the Boyles requested the meeting, and suggested it was not unusual for the prime minister to meet with Canadians who have been detained overseas.
The PMO will not be commenting on the charges.
The Boyle family has declined to comment, and Boyle’s legal team said in a statement that their client will not be making any further statements at this time.
With files from CTV's Senior Political Correspondent Glen McGregor.
