Crown wants Bedford man’s bail on sexual assault charges revoked

HALIFAX, N.S. — The Crown has applied to have a young Bedford man’s recent release order on charges of groping and harassing women in his neighbourhood last summer and again this July reviewed by a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge.

Mohammad Jamal Shned Al-Dulaimi, 19, of Bedford got bail in Halifax provincial court last week on seven counts each of sexual assault and criminal harassment and five counts of breaching his original release conditions from 2022.

Th prosecution has opposed Al-Dulaimi’s release ever since he was first arrested in August 2022. It wants a Supreme Court judge to revoke Al-Dulaimi’s bail or at least tighten his conditions.

Crown attorney Alicia Kennedy appeared in Supreme Court on Thursday to schedule a review of the lower court’s Aug. 16 decision.

Justice Timothy Gabriel will conduct the bail review Aug. 30.

“The Crown is opposed to Mr. Al-Dulaimi’s release in the community,” Kennedy told The Chronicle Herald.

“We’re also quite concerned about the conditions that he was released on, and that’s the basis for seeking review of the order.”

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

Those charges were from nine incidents that took place 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 five counts of breaching his bail conditions.

A bail hearing on all the charges was held Aug. 15 in provincial court, with Judge Gregory Lenehan rendering his decision the following day.

The judge decided 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.

Release conditions

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

Al-Dulaimi cannot possess firearms and is banned 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 prohibitions 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 homes, 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.

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

Lonny Queripel was Al-Dulaimi’s lawyer for last week’s bail hearing. Kristyn Stevens is his trial counsel and will represent him at the bail review.