Nova Scotia man pleads not guilty to sexual assault of Carrie Low

A Halifax man charged in a high-profile 2018 sexual assault case is pleading not guilty, and his trial dates have been set for next year.

The prosecution service said in an email that Brent Alexander Julien entered his plea in Dartmouth provincial court today, and his trial is set to begin March 7.

Carrie Low has alleged two men confined and raped her on the outskirts of Halifax on May 18, 2018, as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

Low — who sought and received a court order permitting the use of her name — has also alleged that police mishandled key evidence in her case, and has pursued a lawsuit against police and a police complaints process.

The sexual assault charge against Julien is the second criminal prosecution in the four-year-old case.

Last year, Halifax police charged Alexander Thomas of East Preston, N.S., but before his trial began Thomas was found dead in what police said was a homicide.