In this process, the doctor faced six counts of sexual assault. Two further trials are scheduled for the other 16 charges of the same nature against him.

On Wednesday, prosecutor Nadine Vasas said: After reviewing the information provided last week, we have requested a stay of the proceedings. It is finished. She noted that the Crown must ensure there is a reasonable prospect of conviction.

The defendant, dressed in a white shirt and purple tie, sat quietly next to his wife during the trial. He didn’t flinch when the Crown announced the stay of the proceedings.

The Crown declined to comment on the nature of the new evidence or the reasons for the stay of the trial.

New information has emerged, prompting the Crown to reassess its case. After a detailed and thorough examination of the evidence, the Crown determined that there was no longer a reasonable prospect of a conviction.a Manitoba government spokesman said in an email.

The lawyers of Dr. Bissonnettes did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

A process characterized by a series of adjournments

This process, which was supposed to last four weeks and in which 10 witnesses were to be heard, somehow never really got started. In fact, it was punctuated by a series of disruptions from day one.

On January 16, defense attorneys Marty Minuk, Josh Weinstein and Lisa LaBossiere requested an adjournment, raising doubts about the integrity of the Ste. let Anne come up. While the defense team was preparing the case a few months ago, they were told they had all the supporting documents, Lisa LaBossiere said on day one of the hearing.

However, last month the defense learned that the notebooks of the officer in charge of the investigation into the Sainte-Anne police force could not be found. Eventually, Judge Anne Turner stopped work.

The following days of hearings all ended fairly quickly in adjournments while the defense examined new Crown evidence. Subsequently, investigators from the Sainte-Anne Police Department provided the defense and the Crown with new evidence, prosecutor Paul Girdlestone said on Friday, calling for a new adjournment.

We’re not quite where we expected to be he admitted during the hearing.

Back before the judge on Monday, he requested another adjournment until Wednesday. The crown then applied for a stay of the proceedings.

Arcel Bissonnette is awaiting further trials

However, this suspension does not end Dr. Arcel Bissonnet. The 60-year-old had been charged with six counts of sexual assault at the time of his arrest in 2020. Since then, other alleged victims have come forward, and in the fall of 2021, 16 cases of sexual assault were added.

The charges relate to facts that allegedly happened between 2004 and 2017 and are the result of long investigations by the local police. The alleged attacks took place at both the Sainte-Anne hospital and medical center, according to police in the community, which is 40 kilometers southeast of Winnipeg.

The province declined to say whether the Crown’s decision to stay the first trial would affect subsequent trials against Dr. will affect Bissonnette.

In an email on Wednesday, the head of the Sainte-Anne city police department, Marc Robichaud, wrote Although I would like to comment now that this matter is still before the courts, the police department will not comment.

dr Arcel Bisonnette will be back in court on April 24, 2023.

With information from Victor Lhoest and The Canadian Press