The accused in an HIV non-disclosure case made his sixth court appearance via video link on May 31, and a full-day bail hearing has been set for June 7.
His lawyer, Delinda Hayton, said it will be up to the justice of the peace to set bail conditions for the accused. She says the co-accused HIV-positive Kitchener man was given house arrest conditions and the Crown will likely seek the same.
Hayton says part of the accused Ottawa man’s conditions for house arrest will be to have a place of residence and to have a surety present any time he leaves home. Like a supervisor, a surety is someone who attends court and ensures the accused keeps the terms of his or her release conditions.
While the accused is still in protective custody, Hayton says she cannot comment on his well-being at this time because she has concerns about his safety.
Since the accused was arrested on May 6, four male complainants, aged 17 to 21 years old, have come forward. That means there are now five complainants in the case.
A May 28 OPS press release says 11 new charges have been laid against the accused since his May 6 arrest, including five counts of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of sexual assault and four counts of breaching of probation. In total, he now faces 14 charges of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of sexual assault and five counts of breaching probation conditions.
When asked about the new charges, Acting Inspector John McGetrick would not say if any of the new complainants contracted HIV or any other STIs.
“I can’t disclose if anyone contracted HIV [in this case] because that’s confidential. All we can say is we anticipate there will be more victims coming forward as the investigation goes on. It’s certainly heading that way,” says McGetrick.
To date, the accused has been in jail for 25 days without bail. When his bail hearing happens next Monday, he will have spent one month and one day in jail.
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