Hearing adjourned until summer
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on March 6, 2024.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A preliminary hearing scheduled to run this week for a man charged in relation to a human trafficking case has been adjourned to another day.The accused, Fadi Chtewi, was scheduled to have the hearing Monday in Lethbridge court of justice, but the matter did not proceed as expected by request of the Crown. The hearing, to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant a trial, has been rescheduled for July 4.
It’s the second time the hearing has been cancelled; it was adjourned last Spring after the accused’s previous lawyer got off the record.
Police reported in August 2021 that eight men and two youth from Lethbridge and Calgary allegedly selected and groomed a 15-year-old girl and took her to specific locations where sex offences occurred. A 13-year-old girl was also alleged to have been involved in sexual activity, and additional complainants came forward later in connection with the investigation.
Chtewi, who previously elected to be tried by a Court of King’s Bench judge alone, is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault, and single counts of sexual contact with a child, sexual counsel of a child, sexual assault of a person under the age of 16, trafficking in persons, and being party to sexual assault. 3
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