Regina sailor charged with sexual assault at Halifax base

A reservist with HMCS Queen, a unit from Regina, has been charged with sexual assault over an incidentalleged to have happened at CFB Halifax in March 2018.

In June 2018, military police inHalifax reached out to the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS)to report a complaint it had received from a third party about a possible sexual assault against another military member on the base in March.

The accused was employed full-time at CFB Halifax at the time.

The Department of National Defence has released few details about the nature of the allegations.

The accused was charged Jan. 22and isscheduled to appear in Halifax provincial court on March 4.

CFNISis an independent military police group mandated to investigate serious and sensitive matters in the Canadian Armed Forces.

In a news release, the military said CFNISdetermined this case should proceed in the civilian criminal court system rather than a court martial in the wake ofa decision by the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada.

The appealcourt ruled last Septemberthat the inability of soldiers, sailors and aircrew to elect trial by jury for serious crimes (those punishable by five years or more in prison) amounts to a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The military prosecution branch has appealed the appealcourt'sdecision and the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on March 26.

As a result, the CFNIS said it will not laycharges in the military justice system for such cases as the alleged Halifax sexual assault until the Supreme Court rules on the merits of the appeal.