Former hostage Joshua Boyle to return to court Jan. 26

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The case of Joshua Boyle, the former Afghanistan hostage now facing 15 criminal charges including sexual assault and unlawful confinement, was adjourned until the end of January following a brief court appearance Monday morning.

Mr. Boyle, wearing an orange jumpsuit, appeared in court in Ottawa via video from the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. A judge said his case would be put over until Jan. 26, when he will appear via video again. He will remain in custody as he awaits a bail hearing.

Mr. Boyle, 34, was charged Jan. 1 with 15 offences, including eight counts of assault, two of sexual assault, two of unlawful confinement and one count of causing someone to take a noxious thing (the antidepressant Trazodone). The charges have not been tested in court. Court orders prohibit the publication of any details that might identify the victims or any witnesses, and the publication of any information presented at the bail hearing.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between Oct. 14 and Dec. 30, shortly after Mr. Boyle and his family returned to Canada from captivity in Pakistan. Mr. Boyle and his American wife, Caitlan Coleman, were taken hostage by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network in 2012 while backpacking in Afghanistan; they had three children in captivity.

A military intervention by the Pakistani government led to the Boyle family's rescue last October. They immediately settled in Smiths Falls, Ont., where Boyle's parents live, upon their return to Canada. They have since moved to a low-rise apartment building in central Ottawa.

Earlier this month, The Globe and Mail reported that the federal government hired an international non-profit group specializing in helping hostages and their relatives to provide support, including referrals for counselling, financial advice and lawyers, to the Boyle family after their release.

The Boyle family also made headlines a week before Christmas when they met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his Parliament Hill office. Mr. Trudeau said his security advisers didn't raise any red flags about the meeting.

Mr. Boyle was married to Zaynab Khadr, the sister of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr, a decade ago. Ms. Coleman is his second wife.