Alleged Bedford serial groper granted bail again, cannot be left alone

A 19-year-old man accused of groping or harassing women in his Bedford neighbourhood last summer and again this July has been granted bail for a second time.

Mohammad Jamal Shned Al-Dulaimi first got bail last September on six counts of sexual assault and seven counts of criminal harassment.

Those charges were in relation to nine incidents 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 July 21 and charged with sexually assaulting another woman in the area of Tilbury Avenue and Innsbrook Way and five counts of breaching his bail conditions.

The Crown opposed Al-Dulaimi’s release on the new charges and applied to revoke his bail on the earlier allegations.

A bail hearing was held Tuesday in Halifax provincial court, with Judge Gregory Lenehan giving his decision Wednesday. An Arabic interpreter translated the proceedings for Al-Dulaimi.

There is a publication ban on the evidence and submissions heard by the judge and the reasons he gave for his decision to release Al-Dulaimi on a new bail order secured by a $1,000 promise by the accused and a $3,000 pledge by his surety, his father.

Lenehan ordered Al-Dulaimi to deposit his passport with court administration within two days, remain in Nova Scotia and always be in the company of either his father, mother or older brother.

Al-Dulaimi cannot possess firearms and is prohibited from being in the gym, movie theatre, computer room or party room at his family’s apartment building between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.

The September 2022 bail order contained bans on attending any public parks, jogging or hiking trails or pathways in the province, and having contact with the complainants or being within 25 metres of their residences, schools or places of employment.

Lenehan chose not to include those conditions in this bail order, instead requiring that Al-Dulaimi’s father, mother or brother always be within three metres of him.

“None of them are going to permit him to approach any unknown individuals,” the judge said of the family members.

Lenehan confirmed with both the surety and Al-Dulaimi, who was in custody at the Dartmouth jail for almost four weeks, that they understood the release conditions.

“You cannot be anywhere without one of those three family members being present,” the judge told the young man.

“If you fail to comply with these conditions, the correctional centre where you have just spent a fair amount of time will become your usual place of residence … and your family could be out a significant amount of money.”

Al-Dulaimi is scheduled to stand trial in provincial court Dec. 4-8 on the original 13 charges. The newer matters will be back in court Sept. 8 for election and plea.

Lonny Queripel was Al-Dulaimi’s lawyer for the bail application. Kristyn Stevens is his trial counsel.