The case of former hostage Joshua Boyle has been adjourned again.
A bail hearing date was expected to be announced Monday but in an Ottawa courthouse this morning, a judge adjourned the case for the third time until Jan. 15. Boyle is facing 15 criminal charges laid on New Year’s Day.
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In a brief court appearance via videoconference from the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, where he is being held in police custody, Boyle’s demeanour appeared markedly different from his appearance last week.
Boyle raised his eyebrows several times when the judge explained that he would remain in custody for at least another week.
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Last week he appeared alert and attentive, even asking the judge politely for permission to depart once his hearing ended, whereas today he did not speak at all before turning away from the camera.
Boyle is facing 15 charges including assault, sexual assault, unlawful confinement, uttering a death threat, misleading a peace officer to divert suspicion from himself, and forcing a person to ingest a noxious substance – in this case, the sleep-inducing antidepressant trazodone.
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There is a publication ban on the case that prevents media from identifying the alleged victim or victims.
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Boyle, who was briefly married to the sister of Omar Khadr, and his wife Caitlan Coleman became widely known after they were kidnapped while visiting Afghanistan in 2012.
Coleman was heavily pregnant at the time and it remains unclear exactly why they went to Afghanistan in the first place. Boyle’s own explanations have varied between saying they went as tourists and suggesting they went to deliver some kind of aid.
The pair were taken hostage by the Haqqani Network and held in Pakistan before being rescued this fall after a daring mission involving coordination between Canada, the United States and Pakistan.
The charges against Boyle date from Oct. 14 of last year, the day after he and his family returned to Canada, to Dec. 30.
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Government officials say the family then requested a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau which took place on Dec. 18, and which has raised questions about whether any investigation into Boyle should have prevented him from being allowed to meet with the prime minister.
Law enforcement and security officials have yet to say whether Boyle was under investigation at the time he met with Trudeau or whether his arrest came as a result of a complaint filed with police after the meeting.
None of the allegations against Boyle have been proven in court.