Daily Times

OTTAWA: Joshua Boyle, the Canadian man who was freed in October last year after being held hostage in Afghanistan with his wife and children for five years, was arrested in Ottawa and charged with a number of offences, including sexual assault.

The offences all took place in Ottawa after his return to Canada on October 14 and before December 30. Boyle, 34, is in police custody. On Wednesday, he made a brief court appearance via video link from Ottawa-Carleton Detention Center in Ottawa on more than a dozen criminal charges.

His lawyer Ninetta Caparelli represented Boyle during his brief appearance on Wednesday and told court that Boyle would be represented by lawyers Lawrence Greenspon and Eric Granger and they need time to go through his case file.

Boyle confirmed his name, and then his next court appearance was scheduled for Monday to allow his lawyers to continue working on a bail plan.

He already appeared in Ottawa court on January 1 and is remaining in police custody. The court ordered that prevents publication of information that would identify any of the alleged victims.

Boyle is facing 15 charges, including eight counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault, and two counts of unlawful confinement, as well as one count each of uttering death threats, causing someone to “take a noxious thing, namely Trazodone,” and misleading the police.

Boyle, his American wife Caitlan Coleman, and their three children – all born in captivity – were held by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network before being rescued by Pakistani forces and returning to Canada.

“I can’t speak about the specific charges, but I can say that ultimately it is the strain and trauma he was forced to endure for so many years and the effects that that had on his mental state that is most culpable for this,” Coleman said to media persons.

“Obviously, he is responsible for his own actions,” she said. “However, it is with compassion and forgiveness that I say I hope help and healing can be found for him. As to the rest of us, myself and the children, we are healthy and holding up as well as we can.”

Boyle was arrested on Monday, his brother Dan told the media, adding that his family would like to see him get mental health treatment.

Boyle’s lawyer Eric Granger told the media that his client was presumed innocent and that he was eager to see the evidence in the case. “Boyle is a young man who we all know has been through a lot. He has never been in trouble with the law,” Granger said. “We look forward to receiving that evidence and defending him against these charges in court,” he said.

Boyle, his wife Caitlan and their three children – all of whom were born in captivity – returned to Canada on October 13, after Pakistani forces rescued them from the Taliban-linked Haqqani network, which had held them hostage since October 2012, when Boyle and his wife were captured while backpacking in Afghanistan.

The couple says they were backpacking when they were kidnapped in Afghanistan, and that they were quickly moved to Pakistan. Coleman had claimed that she was raped and that when Boyle refused to join the Haqqani network, the kidnappers retaliated by terminating her pregnancy.

In December, the entire family met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his office on Parliament Hill, and subsequently shared photos from the visit on their Twitter account.

Published in Daily Times, January 5^th 2018.