4th sexual assault trial for former SMU groundskeeper delayed

A fourth sexual assault trial for former Saint Mary's University groundskeeper Matthew Percy has been pushed back by nearly a year because he has changed lawyers for the fourth time.

Percy has been convicted twice of sexually assaulting two women. He was acquitted in a third case. In each trial, Percy was represented by a different lawyer.

His fourth trial, involving a fourth woman, was scheduled to begin Dec. 7 in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax and run for 10 days.

But Thursday morning, Percy's fourth lawyer, Michelle James, informed the court that she had only recently been retained and couldn't get up to speed in eight weeks.

The trial is now set for 10 days beginning Nov. 12, 2021. Percy remains in custody.