Ex-hostage Joshua Boyle to review psychiatric evaluation with lawyer

OTTAWA – Former Afghanistan hostage Joshua Boyle, who faces several assault charges, will soon review a recently completed psychiatric evaluation with his lawyer.

Lawrence Greenspon, counsel for Boyle, says he hopes to go over the forensic assessment with his client later this week.

Boyle made a brief court appearance today, and the next hearing in his case is slated for April 17.

Greenspon told the Ontario court in late January that an initial evaluation found his client fit to stand trial, but added that he would benefit from a fuller assessment at a mental health centre in Brockville, Ont.

Boyle was arrested by Ottawa police in December and charged with various offences including assault, sexual assault, unlawful confinement and causing someone to take a noxious substance.

The charges against the 34-year-old relate to two alleged victims, but a court order prohibits the publication of details that might identify them or any witnesses.

Boyle and his American wife, Caitlan Coleman, were taken hostage in 2012 by a Taliban-linked group while on a backpacking trip in Afghanistan. The couple — along with the three children they had during their five years in captivity — were freed by Pakistani forces last October.

None of the charges, which relate to incidents that allegedly occurred between Oct. 14 and Dec. 30, after Boyle returned to Canada from captivity, has been tested in court.

The family had been living in an Ottawa apartment for about a month when Boyle was arrested.