Ottawa Ciizen

06 October 2004

A judge will decide on Oct. 18 if the case of a man charged with sexually assaulting teenage boys will proceed to trial. Judge Terence Platana said that’s when he will hand down his decision on a defence-led motion to have the charges against Jacques Leduc stayed due to the length of time it’s taken to bring the matter to trial. Mr. Leduc, 53, was charged through the OPP Project Truth investigation in June 1998 with multiple counts of sexual assaults involving teenage boys. Yesterday, Crown attorney Lidia Narozniak argued against the motion, saying Mr. Leduc himself delayed bringing forth the application to have the charges stayed. Earlier in the day, defence attorney Marie Henein spoke of the impact the delay has had on her client. “The prejudice to him and his family is at the high end,” she said. “It has devastated them.”