RNC officer Doug Snelgrove in court this week for sex assault retrial
Jury selection to begin Monday
A Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer will stand trial for the second time in three years this week, as a new jury is slated to hear arguments related to an alleged sexual assault against a woman.
Doug Snelgrove was on duty at the time of the alleged assault in December 2014 and stood trial in 2017.
In 2018, prosecutors won a new trial after the province's appeals court found that the original judge erred in her instructions to the jury.
Prosecutor Lloyd Strickland told CBC News the Crown will argue in part that Snelgrove's position of authority as a police officer, vitiated — or invalidated — consent.
CBC could not reach the defendant's counsel, Randy Piercey, for comment.
By law, media outlets cannot report previous testimony nor details of the initial trial.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday at an unfamiliar venue for court proceedings. The trial has been moved to the former School for the Deaf building on Topsail Road in St. John's to allow more space for physical distancing.
Jury selection will look different, too, as the potential jurors will be led into the building in staggered groups.
It is the first jury trial in Newfoundland and Labrador since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Proceedings for the jury trial are expected to start Wednesday.