PEI

Sexual assault charge that led to Charlottetown jury trial stayed

The Prince Edward Island Crown Attorneys Office will not seek a new trial in the case of a man charged with sexual assault over an incident in January 2014. 

Crown will not pursue further proceedings against Edward Thomas Mundle

Edward Thomas Mundle pleaded not guilty to the charge of sexual assault against Stephanie Douglas. (Brian Higgins/CBC)

The Prince Edward Island Crown Attorneys Office will not seek a new trial in the case of a man charged with sexual assault over an incident in January 2014. 

A stay of proceedings in the case was entered in arraignment court in Charlottetown on Tuesday.

Last month, a jury hearing Edward Thomas Mundle's case could not come to a unanimous verdict, so Justice Tracey Clements declared a mistrial. 

Mundle and complainant Stephanie Douglas had been in a casual dating relationship that involved sexual domination activities. She testified that he ignored her use of an agreed-upon safe word on New Year's Day 2014 and sexually assaulted her, which caused her "excruciating" pain.

Douglas ended up in hospital with a life-threatening infection a short time later, and blames her illness on Mundle's actions on the day in question.

Mundle says she consented to everything they did together.

Douglas did not want a publication ban on her name, as is the usual practice when it comes to complainants in most Canadian sexual assault cases.

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