The defendant, Allan Hill, brought a motion for severance of five criminal charges (three sexual assault counts and two assault counts) involving three different complainants, seeking three separate trials.
The court considered the factors for severance under s. 591(3) of the Criminal Code, including the risk of prejudice to the accused, factual and legal nexus between counts, complexity of evidence, the accused's intention to testify, possibility of inconsistent verdicts, desire to avoid multiplicity of proceedings, use of similar fact evidence, trial length, and the right to be tried within a reasonable time (Jordan limits).
The court found that the public interest in a single trial outweighed any risk of prejudice to the accused, particularly given it was a judge-alone trial where such risks are diminished.
The application for severance was dismissed.
