Percy denied bail on remaining sex charges
A Halifax man awaiting two sexual assault trials has been denied bail.
Matthew Albert Percy, 36, had a bail hearing in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax.
Justice Patrick Duncan heard evidence and submissions last week and gave his decision Friday.
The reasons for the judge’s decision to deny bail are covered by a publication ban on details of the hearing.
Percy has been behind bars since December 2017, accused of sexually assaulting four female acquaintances in the city between November 2013 and September 2017.
He’s already had separate trials in Halifax provincial court concerning two of the incidents, with two more trials set for early next year in Supreme Court.
Percy was found not guilty at his first trial in August 2018 on charges of sexual assault, choking and voyeurism, from an encounter with a Saint Mary’s University student at his apartment Sept. 3, 2017.
Last December, he was found guilty on charges of sexual assault and voyeurism from an incident involving a different SMU student in her dorm room Sept. 15, 2017. Judge Elizabeth Buckle said she was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Percy had intercourse with the young woman while she was unconscious and recorded some of their interaction on his iPhone without her consent.
Percy received a 30-month sentence in May, but the judge credited him with 768 days for his time on remand, leaving him with just 144 days to serve. The sentence also included three years’ probation.
Percy was a groundskeeper at SMU at the time of the 2017 incidents. Both verdicts were appealed.
The Crown’s appeal of the August 2018 acquittals was heard in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal last month, with the panel reserving its decision. A date has yet to be set for Percy’s appeal of the December 2018 convictions.
Percy is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 18-March 2 on a charge of sexual assault causing bodily harm, from an incident at a Dalhousie University student residence in December 2014.
He has another trial set for March 17-27 on charges of sexual assault causing bodily harm, assault and choking, from an encounter with a woman at her apartment in November 2013.