Man accused of sexually assaulting men he met online

A Saskatoon man facing two sexual assault charges involving men he met over social media has elected to be tried by a judge and jury at Saskatoon Court of Queen's Bench.

Defence lawyer Aleida Oberholzer made the election after her client, Kyle Edward Norman, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in Saskatoon provincial court. He is currently out of custody.

The case would have stayed at the provincial court level had Norman, 37, elected a judge-alone trial.

Norman was charged in July 2020 with sexual assault in connection with an incident in the 200 block of Stensrud Road in the Willowgrove area on Oct. 17, 2019, according to a news release.

Police said they were doing a welfare check on an 18-year-old man who was found inside the home.

Just days after that charge was laid, Norman was charged with another count of sexual assault stemming from Sept. 18, 2019, and involving a 20-year-old man.

Preliminary hearings are usually held to determine if there is sufficient evidence to send a case to trial. Recent amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada, under Bill C-75, restrict the use of preliminary hearings to accused people facing charges with maximum sentences of 14 years or more.

The maximum sentence for sexual assault is 10 years in prison, so Norman did not apply, Oberholzer said.

In May 2020, aggravated sexual assault and confinement charges were stayed against Norman when he signed a peace bond — a promise to abide by certain conditions for a specified period of time.

For 12 months, Norman agreed not to possess or consume any illicit drugs or contact the 19-yearold complainant, whom police said Norman also met through a social networking app in October 2019.