A Red Deer man accused of sexually assaulting one woman and murdering another will go to trial in June of next year on the earlier charges.
Nathan Michael Desharnais, 24, will be tried by judge alone in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench on charges of sexual assault, forcible confinement and overcoming resistance in connection with an incident alleged to have occurred in his Red Deer home in early June of last year.
Desharnais appeared before Queen’s Bench Justice Peter McIntyre on Monday, nursing a black bruise around his left eye. His trial on the sexual assault and related offences was set for June 23 to 27, 2014, with a pre-trial conference in April.
Desharnais is also awaiting a preliminary hearing on a second set of charges, laid by Red Deer City RCMP investigating the death of Calgary mother Talia Meguinis, 27. Her body was found as a truck was unloading at a Red Deer recycling depot on Feb. 22 of last year.
Desharnais was out on cash bail of $5,000 for the June 2012 offence when he was arrested in connection with Meguinis’s murder. His preliminary hearing on those charges is set for Dec. 16, 18 and 19. Desharnais remains in custody pending the outcome of proceedings against him.