Toronto police officers accused of gang sexual assault opt for judge-only trial
Leslie Nyznik, Sameer Kara and Joshua Cabero are accused of assaulting female colleague
In a last minute move by the defence, three Toronto Police officers accused of a gang sexual assault on a colleague will be tried by judge alone.
Leslie Nyznik, Sameer Kara and Joshua Cabero, all officers at 51 Division, are accused of having non-consensual sex with a female parking enforcement officer at a downtown Toronto hotel in 2015.
After a more than a year of pre-trial hearings, a jury trial was set to begin this week.
In fact, the court spent much of Monday morning hearing arguments about what questions prospective jurors would be asked during jury selection, which was scheduled for Wednesday.
But when the court returned from a lunch break, the Crown informed Justice Anne Molloy that the defence is electing to be tried by judge alone.
No reasons were given for the change, which every accused has the right to make.
The trial is now set to begin next Monday.