One of four British sailors accused of a group sexual assault in Halifax had the charges against him dropped Friday morning.
Craig Stoner was one of four men charged in the alleged gang rape at CFB Shearwater last April.
READ MORE: Preliminary hearing underway for British sailors accused of sex assault
Friday, Crown prosecutor Scott Morrison said there wasn’t enough evidence presented during the pre-trial hearing to convict Stoner of the offence.
“And while it may have been possible to get committal to trial the evidence would not meet the high standard necessary for a criminal conviction,” Morrison said.
“So in the result, we’re duty bound, and it’s the right thing to do, to withdraw the charge as against Mr. Stoner only.”
Morrison reiterated that they will not be dropping any of the charged laid against the other three soldiers, Simon Radford, Joshua Finbow and Darren Smalley.
The three men still face a number of charges including sexual assault causing bodily harm.
“I can say we have a realistic prospect of conviction against the remaining three, but we are, as always, duty bound to continually evaluate our file as it goes forward, but at this stage there’s a realistic prospect,” Morrison said.
The pre-trial hearing was scheduled to wrap up on Friday, however Morrison said they need two to three more days before it will be finished.
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