Edmonton nightclub consultant charged with sexual assault makes court appearance

An Edmonton man facing a lengthy list of charges connected with a number of sexual assaults made his first court appearance Monday.

Matthew McKnight’s case was adjourned until Dec. 5.

McKnight, 29, was first charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm, two counts of sexual assault and unlawful confinement on Aug. 10, 2016.

In September, he was charged with 18 more offences: 12 counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault and four counts of unlawful confinement.

READ MORE: Edmonton man charged in connection with 3 sexual assaults 

Edmonton police said the most recent charges involve 14 complainants and all stem from separate incidents which allegedly occurred between December 2013 and July 2016. Including the earlier charges, police said there are a total of 17 incidents.

“All of them … involve female complainants that are aged between 17 and 22 years,” Staff Sgt. Devin Laforce with EPS Sexual Assault Section said.

“With those 17 occurrences, we believe that there’s still a number of complainants and witnesses that are out there and would like to encourage them to come forward to police.”

READ MORE: 18 new sexual assault-related charges laid against former Edmonton nightclub consultant

Brendan Crooks, a senior manager with Urban Sparq Hospitality – which owns several nightclubs and bars in Edmonton – confirmed to Global News in August that McKnight was a former employee of the company. Crooks said McKnight worked as an independent consultant.

Police said none of the assaults happened inside the bars, but all 17 complainants are said to be linked to the hospitality industry.

Urban Sparq Hospitality owns The Pint, Knoxville’s Tavern, The Rack, Denizen Hall, Canada Crawls, Arena Liquor and Argyle Grill and Bar.

McKnight made bail and has not been in custody.