A trial for two British Columbia men accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a Dartmouth hotel didn't resume as scheduled Friday because one of the defendants is in custody on the West Coast.
Lawyers for the Crown and the defence were prepared to have the trial go ahead in the absence of Garry Christopher Peak, but Judge Alanna Murphy wasn't keen on that idea.
"I am very uncomfortable," the judge said, "and will not exercise my discretion to allow Mr. Peak to be absent at this critical (point) in the evidence.
"I am not going to proceed without him being present."
Peak, 35, and James Christopher Hanson, 29, both mixed martial arts fighters, face charges of forcible confinement and aggravated sexual assault stemming from an incident at the Hampton Inn & Suites on Sept. 27, 2009.
Their trial in Dartmouth provincial court got underway in October with three days of testimony. The defence was ready to begin calling evidence Friday, with Hanson expected to take the stand.
Peak missed his flight to Nova Scotia after he was arrested Wednesday in his hometown of Prince George for allegedly breaching his release conditions.
Defence lawyer Peter Planetta said Peak did not plan to testify anyway and was willing to have the trial proceed without him.
But the judge said it's important that Peak be in the courtroom for Hanson's testimony.
"Without the ability to hear Mr. Hanson, I think his defence would be seriously compromised," Murphy said.
The judge adjourned the trial until March 7 and asked Planetta to update her on his client's situation Jan. 13.
Hanson, a resident of Surrey, remains free on bail with a curfew and other conditions.
The complainant, a 34-year-old Halifax woman whose identity is protected, said the two men tried to rape her after she and a friend accepted an invitation to their hotel room.
She testified that Hanson pinned her arms above her head and kissed her neck while Peak kissed her belly, pulled her jeans and panties down to her knees and fondled her.
The woman said she yelled for the men to stop but they laughed at her.
She said the sexual assault only stopped after she kicked Peak in the chin and got a hand free to punch Hanson in the face. Hanson then threw her on the floor like she was a rag doll, she said.
Before the woman was alone with the men, she got angry at her friend and beat her up. The friend, her face battered and bloody, went downstairs to the front desk for help.
Police responded to that assault call and went up to Room 500 to arrest the woman.
Peak opened the door and the woman rushed into the hallway, complaining that she couldn't breathe. She was taken to Dartmouth General Hospital, where she learned she had a collapsed lung.
In Prince George, Peak was arrested Sept. 1 when police executed a search warrant on a home in the 2200 block Norwood St. Peak faces three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Also arrested was Dean Reginald Anderson, who faces two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and one count each of possession of a controlled substance, careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
Anderson was granted bail the day after his arrest and hasn't been seen since. A warrant for his arrest was issued after he failed to appear on court on Nov. 2.
- with files from Mark Nielsen
