The strange case of Canadian Joshua Boyle has come to a end, although not completely.
Boyle 36, and his American wife Caitlan Coleman, 33, had been the subject of international news, and questions about his decisions, after he led his pregnant wife into a dangerous area of Afghanistan where they were soon taken hostage in 2012 by a group associated with the Taliban.
Boyle was once briefly married to Zaynab Khadr, of the Canadian Khadr family which had had close ties to al-Qaeda through their father. He was killed along with Taliban and al-Qaeda members in a shootout with Pakistani forces near the Afghan border in 2003. After his death, the Khadr family moved back to Canada where Boyle met with them and became a spokesman for the family.
After their rescue in 2017, they were eventually flown back to Canada where they met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Two weeks later Boyle was arrested after his wife fled their home and filed charges against him.
A judge this week dismissed all 18 charges against him levelled by his wife after their return to Ottawa including sexual assault, assault, criminal harassment, and unlawful confinement, and one other charge involving another individual.
Joshua Boyle leaves the Ottawa court after being acquitted on all charges. Although the judge said he didn’t believe Boyle, he also said the Crown couldn’t prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. (Justin Tang-CP)
In 2011 he married American Caitlan Coleman and they later began travelling through Asia before entering Taliban controlled Afghanistan where they were taken hostage.
That lasted five years before they were rescued, during which time Caitlan bore three of his children. She claimed during that time, and after their return to Canada he was violent and controlling, while he claimed she was violent with fits of anger.
Entered as evidence of his controlling nature was Boyle’s list for his wife’s duties including; “You MUST take cold showers-stamina-self control; You MUST fill out list daily for heavy exercise, You MUST plan interesting sex minimum twice a week, You must ask for chastising every time you think you have failed. (via Radio-Canada- Audrey Roy)
In his decision the judge was critical of both saying he did not believe Boyle’s version of events, but also had concerns about Coleman’s “unconfirmed” evidence, saying because of that the Crown couldn’t prove the charges against Boyle beyond a reasonable doubt.
Coleman had fled the couple’s Canadian home and with their three children moved to the U.S., where she gave birth to a fourth child.
Boyle’s lawyer said he plans to continue legal action to gain access to the children with the eventual hope of gaining custody.
additional information-sources
- CBC: K.Harris: Dec 18/19: Judge dismisses all 19 charges against ex-Afghanistan hostage Joshua Boyle in sexual assault case
- Canadian Press (via PostMedia: Dec 19/19: Former Afghanistan hostage Joshua Boyle found not guilty on all 19 charges
- BBC: Dec 19/19: Joshua Boyle : Judge dismisses charges against ex-Afghan hostage
- Ottawa Citizen: A. Duffy: Dec 19/19: Joshua Boyle walks free on all charges, stage set for child custody fight
- CBC: R. Miller: Mar 27/19: Joshua Boyle’s estranged spouse details physical abuse
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