Cops charged with sex assault headed to trial

Rare direct indictment means there won’t be a preliminary hearing for three officers

The case against three Toronto police officers charged with sexually assaulting a female colleague after a “rookie night” of partying in January 2015 will now proceed directly to tri- al, according to court documents.

A preliminary hearing for 51 Division officers Leslie Nyznik, Sameer Kara and Joshua Cabero had been scheduled for July, at which the Crown would have presented its case and the complainant would probably have testified and been cross-examined.

At the end of the hearing, a judge would have decided whether there was enough evidence for the matter to go to a trial. That will no longer take place. A direct indictment, a rare request by the Crown that requires the approval of the Attorney General, allows the case to go directly to a trial without a preliminary hearing.

The possibility of a direct indictment was raised earlier this year during a motion brought by the Crown to remove two defence lawyers from the case due to a possible conflict of interest. A decision on that issue remains pending.

The complainant, whose identity is under a publication ban, is a parking enforcement officer.

According to a police document requesting a DNA warrant, she alleges the three officers sexually assaulted her in a downtown hotel room.

In her statement to police, the complainant described being intoxicated and unable to form the words to ask the three men to stop. She also said she drifted in and out of consciousness.

At one point, she said, she heard one of the men say: “Josh, stop. She’s out.”

Nyznik, Kara and Cabero face charges of sexual assault and gang sexual assault. They are expected to plead not guilty.

The matter is next in court on July 20.