Sexual assault charge against former U of M prof stayed

A sexual assault chargeagainst a well-known former music professor at the University of Manitoba has been stayed.

Steve Kirby was charged with sexual assault last June in relation to an incident that allegedly happened in 2017 involving a female student.

The case was expected to proceed to trial in later this year, but Mark Kantor, the Crown attorney in the case, said that the chargehasbeen stayed. The matter came up in court last week.

Kantor said he could not elaborate further at this time.

A stay of proceedings in a criminal case means a charge is not proceeding through court at this time, but does not mean the charge has been formally withdrawn.

Kirby's lawyer, Richard Wolson, did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.

The student, who was 19 at the time, told police she was enrolled in the music program at the University of Manitoba when she was sexually assaulted "on multiple occasions" by her professor. Police said theincidents happened between September 2014 and January 2017.

Kirby hadparted ways with the University of Manitoba in 2017, after an internal investigation report found he repeatedly made inappropriate sexual comments and unwanted sexual contact with a female student.

After that, several other students came forward, alleging Kirby used his position to kiss, hug and make lewd comments toward students.

Nicole Chammartin, executive director of Klinic which started staffing a sexual assault counsellor on campus last fall said that while there is now more public support for victims of sexual assault, that doesn't necessarily mean the legal system has changed or become easier for victims to navigate.

"I think the more that we talk about an issue, the more people might feel comfortable talking about it in a public way. I don't know that the system necessarily is making things all that much easier," she said.

"The reality is, it is hard, it's very difficult not just to navigate the system, but to actually go through a trial, right?It's very difficult."