A 19-year-old charged with attacking a 24-year-old woman in a ladies’ washroom at the YMCA on South Park Street last month has a date set for trial.
Khalid Khulaif Alhardbi is charged with hostage taking, assault causing bodily harm and wearing a mask during an offence. He was in Halifax Provincial Court yesterday morning after being transported from custody.
In the three-minute proceeding, the defence and Crown agreed for the trial to begin on June 29. Last month, Alhardbi had pleaded not guilty to the three charges against him.
In the alleged attack, at 11:15 p.m. on Feb. 17, the lights went out in the washroom and the 24-year-old victim said she was grabbed from behind and held by a man wearing a mask. She screamed and struggled, breaking free. Her screams alerted YMCA staff and tenants, who called 9-1-1 and held the man till police got there.
The victim and the suspect charged were residents of the YMCA’s student dormitory, which houses about 20 people.
