Bedford man accused of groping several women pleads not guilty to latest charges

HALIFAX, N.S. — A young man accused of groping and harassing women in his Bedford neighbourhood over the past two summers has pleaded not guilty to his latest charges.

A lawyer entered the pleas for Mohammad Jamal Shned Al-Dulaimi, 19, last week in Halifax provincial court on one count of sexual assault and five counts of breaching his original release conditions from 2022.

Judge Christine Driscoll scheduled Al-Dulaimi’s trial on those six charges for Sept. 25, 2024.

Al-Dulaimi was first arrested in the summer of 2022 and charged with six counts of sexual assault and seven counts of harassment.

Those charges were from nine incidents that occurred between Aug. 3 and Aug. 27, 2022. The encounters happened on the Kearney Lake Dam Trail, on a trail in the 0-100 block of Amesbury Gate near Larry Uteck Boulevard, and at the Broad Street apartment building where Al-Dulaimi lives with his family.

Al-Dulaimi was arrested again this July 21 and charged with sexually assaulting another woman in the area of Tilbury Avenue and Innsbrook Way and breaching his bail conditions.

The Crown opposed Al-Dulaimi’s release on the new charges and revoked his September 2022 bail on the earlier matters.

A bail hearing on all 19 charges was held this August in provincial court, with Judge Gregory Lenehan deciding to release Al-Dulaimi on a new order with fewer restrictions.

A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge varied the bail order with the consent of both the Crown and the defence earlier this month.

The $2,500 order requires Al-Dulaimi to remain in Nova Scotia, live with his family and always be within three metres of either his father, mother or older brother.

Al-Dulaimi must not possess firearms or attend any public parks, jogging or hiking trails or pathways in the province. He also cannot have contact with the complainants or be within 25 metres of their homes, schools or places of employment.

In addition, there’s a condition prohibiting Al-Dulaimi from being anywhere in his apartment building other than his residence unless he’s accompanied by his father, mother or older sibling.

Al-Dulaimi’s trial on the first set of charges is set for Dec. 4-8 of this year in Halifax provincial court.

Arrangements will be made to have an Arabic interpreter assist Al-Dulaimi at both trials.