Trial date set for former St. FX student

A former St. Francis Xavier University student accused of sexual assault has been committed to stand trial next fall following a preliminary inquiry.

Luke Letourneau will face a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge and jury next September in Antigonish, after pleading not guilty to the charge stemming from an alleged incident in November 2017.

The 24-year-old is accused of sexually assaulting another student on the campus, a case that garnered widespread attention after it was revealed that St. FX permitted him to remain on campus pending the criminal prosecution.

Letourneau is being represented by defence attorney Coline Morrow, while Crown lawyer Jonathan Gavel is leading the prosecution.

Gavel says four days have been set aside for the trial, from Sept. 23 to Sept. 26.

The court granted an application for a support person to accompany the complainant when testifying at the preliminary inquiry last month, an accommodation that has become increasingly common in sexual assault cases.

The evidence at the preliminary inquiry and the identity of the complainant are both under publication bans.

The complainant, an Ontario woman in her late teens, has left the university.

The university’s president apologized for how the case was handled, and the accused also withdrew from St. FX.