A Ndilo man accused of sexually assaulting two women while out on bail for another since-stayed sexual assault charge will head to trial in May.
Forty-nine-year-old Peter Tsetta, who previously elected to be tried by a judge and jury, will now be tried by a judge alone after changing his mode of trial in NWT Supreme Court Monday.
Tsetta has pleaded not guilty to four charges stemming from two incidents alleged to have taken place last year.
In May 2017, Tsetta is alleged to have sexually assaulted and forcibly confined a woman in Yellowknife.
A month later, in June, Tsetta is alleged to have done the same to another woman. He now faces two sets of sexual assault and forcible confinement charges.
Both of the incidents are alleged to have occurred while Tsetta was on bail for another sexual assault charge laid in March of last year - a charge that has since been stayed by the Crown.
On April 3, 2017, after being charged with the now-stayed charge, Tsetta was granted release by a Justice of the Peace, only to be charged with two more sexual assaults mere months later.
The allegations sparked outrage from prominent women’s advocates in the city who questioned why Tsetta, already facing a serious sexual assault charge, was granted bail and allowed back into the community.
Tsetta's judge-alone trial will begin in Yellowknife's Supreme Court on May 27.