An alleged human trafficker headed to trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court has fired his lawyer.
Duncan Robertson Wright, 45, of Halifax faces 25 charges involving five girls or young women.
The charges include one count of trafficking a person under the age of 18, two counts of receiving financial benefit from human trafficking, and three counts of procuring someone to provide sexual services for consideration.
Wright appeared in Supreme Court in Halifax on Thursday by video link from the Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Pictou County.
Lawyer Peter Kidston informed the judge he wanted to be removed from the case.
“We’ve reached a point where there’s been a complete breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship,” Kidston told Justice Patrick Duncan.
“Mr. Wright wishes to discharge me and retain other counsel.”
“That’s correct,” Wright said.
“I spoke to (Brian) Church earlier in the week and he said he would take my case.”
The judge adjourned the matter for two weeks to give Church time to receive the evidence against Wright from Kidston and Crown attorney Perry Borden.
Wright has been in custody since April 2017, when he was arrested on 22 charges initially involving three teenage girls.
He was committed to stand trial before a SupremeCourt judge alone, following a preliminary inquiry in Halifax provincial court in March.
The other charges against Wright include six counts of either making, distributing or possessing child pornography, four counts of communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services, two counts each of sexual assault and sexual interference, and single counts of invitation tosexual touching, luring a child for the purpose of committing a sexual offence, keeping a common bawdy house at his residence on Quartz Drive in Spryfield, receiving financial benefit from sexual services provided by someone under the age of 18, and allowing a person under 18 to engage in prohibited sexual activity in his household.
The Crown alleges the offences were committed in Halifax between July 31, 2016, and April 6, 2017.
