3 Toronto police officers accused of gang sexual assault appear in court

Three Toronto police officers accused of sexually assaulting a female parking enforcement officer appeared in court Monday.

Officers Joshua Cabero, 28, Leslie Nyznik, 38, and Sameer Kara, 31, were charged with sexual assault and gang sexual assault in February 2015 in connection with an alleged incident involving a female parking enforcement officer at an after-work party in January 2015.

Following the allegations, the three officers, who all worked in 51 Division, were suspended with pay and are currently out on $15,000 bail.

READ MORE: Three Toronto police officers charged with gang sexual assault

The men were off-duty at the time of the alleged incident. They have been prohibited from drinking alcohol and possessing guns.

At the time of the arrests, Cabero had been with the force for four years, Nyznik for five years and Kara for six.

Challenge for cause arguments are began at 10 a.m. Monday with jury selection expected to get underway Wednesday. The officers elected to proceed with the trial by judge alone, instead of by jury.

Opening arguments are set to begin June 5 and the trial is expected to last five to six weeks. The Crown will call up to 17 witnesses including the alleged victim, whose identity is under publication ban.

Nyznik was also present at a 2010 incident where police officers were accused of using excessive force during the arrest of an allegedly impaired driver.

READ MORE: 3 Toronto Police officers accused of sexually assaulting female officer

Footage from a dashboard camera inside the police car captured Const. Christian Dobbs, who was Nyznik’s partner at the time, striking the driver repeatedly with his elbow during the arrest.

No officers were charged in that incident and Justice Ford Clements said in his ruling “there was a contrived effort to justify the use of force.”

With files from Catherine McDonald, David Shum and James Armstrong