Realtor’s charges stayed

A Saskatoon realtor accused of living off the avails of prostitution has been set free after Crown prosecutors stayed the charges against him.

Reagan Eli Michael Hnatiuk, 41, was set to stand trial Wednesday, but the trial did not go ahead.

Hnatiuk was charged after vice unit investigators encountered a 17-year-old girl allegedly working in the sex trade at a north-end hotel, according to a police media release.

The release said the vice investigators were enforcing the city’s adult services bylaw at the time, but further investigation led them to lay charges against Hnatiuk.

Hnatiuk’s lawyer, Jay Watson, said a Supreme Court ruling striking down Canada’s prostitution laws could have had an impact on the Crown’s decision.

He also said the Crown could not locate a key witness.