Canadian Joshua Boyle, his American wife Caitlan Coleman and their three young children were held captive for five years after the couple disappeared in Afghanistan.
Boyle is now facing trial over 19 charges laid against him in late 2017 which include assault, sexual assault and forcible confinement. He has pleaded not guilty.
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A majority of the charges relate to Coleman, though a second alleged victim cannot be identified due to a publication ban.
Here is a timeline of their case.
2011 – Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman marry during a lengthy trip to South America.
July 2012 – Boyle and Coleman travel to Russia. They later move on to Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and finally to Afghanistan over the course of several months.
Oct. 8, 2012 – Caitlan Coleman’s father hears from Boyle for the last time before the couple is captured. Boyle said he was in an Internet cafe in what he described as an “unsafe” part of Afghanistan. The last withdrawals from the couple’s bank account were made Oct. 8 and 9 in Kabul. An Afghan official later said the couple had been abducted in Wardak Province, a rugged, mountainous Taliban haven.
Late 2012 or early 2013 – Coleman’s first child is born. Coleman was pregnant at the time of her capture, and her due date was in December 2012.
June 4, 2014 – Coleman’s family releases two videos of Coleman and Boyle in captivity, saying the clips were provided to the family in 2013. Boyle and Coleman are seen calling on the U.S. government to free them and their child from Taliban captors.
November 2015 – Coleman’s family receives a letter from Coleman in which she says she has given birth to a second child in captivity.
Aug. 30, 2016 – A video of Coleman and Boyle is posted on YouTube. In it, Boyle says their captors will kill them and their children “if the policies of the Afghan government are not overturned, either by the Afghan government or by Canada, somehow, or the United States.” A Taliban official says the video was recorded in 2015.
December 2016 – Another video is posted online, this time featuring Coleman, Boyle and their two young children. Coleman urges governments on all sides to secure the family’s freedom.
Oct. 12, 2017 – U.S. officials say Pakistan secured the family’s release. According to officials, Coleman had a third child while in captivity. In a press release, the Pakistani military says Boyle and Coleman will be “repatriated to the country of their origin.”
Oct. 13 – The family arrives back in Canada.
Oct 14 – Boyle demands his kidnappers be brought to justice for the “murder” of his infant daughter and the rape of his wife while they were in captivity.
Oct. 15 – A Taliban spokesman calls Boyle’s allegations “false and propaganda.”
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Oct. 16 – Boyle says he and his wife decided to have children while held captive because they always planned to have a big family and decided, “Hey, let’s make the best of this and at least go home with a larger start on our dream family.”
Oct. 17 – Coleman is rushed to the hospital in Smith Falls, Ont., but Boyle does not specify why she is taken there.
Nov. 20 – Caitlan Boyle tells ABC News how she and her husband did the best they could to raise young children in brutal conditions, using bottle caps and cardboard as toys and teaching their eldest son geography and astronomy.
Dec. 19 – Tweets show Boyle, Coleman and their children privately meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his office on Parliament Hill. Trudeau’s office says the family requested the meeting.
Dec. 30 – Boyle dials 911, telling a dispatcher that Coleman ran screaming from their Ottawa apartment, threatening to kill herself. The call triggers an investigation.
Dec. 31 – Boyle is arrested in Ottawa and charged with various offences, including assault, sexual assault, and unlawful confinement. A publication ban prevents either of the two alleged victims from being publicly identified.
Jan. 9, 2018 – Trudeau suggests in a radio interview that security officials raised no red flags before the prime minister met with the family.
Jan. 26 – Boyle’s lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, tells court a doctor found Boyle fit to stand trial, but recommends a detailed psychiatric assessment. The confidential assessment is completed in the spring.
June 1 – Boyle is released from jail with strict bail conditions that include an electronic tracking bracelet.
March 25, 2019 – Boyle’s assault trial begins. A publication ban is partially lifted after Coleman agreed to be identified as the alleged victim in relation to a majority of the charges.
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