Two of Canada’s most high-profile criminal defence lawyers were in Vancouver Provincial Court April 4 representing two men charged with sexually assaulting the same woman.
Court documents say Ryan Byng Giraud,44, and Ryan William Splichen, 45, are alleged to have sexually assaulted the woman, whose name is covered by a publication ban, from Aug. 16 to Aug. 17, 2022.
The charges were sworn June 6, 2024.
Splichen is being defended by former B.C. Supreme Court Justice William Smart while Giraud’s lawyer is Richard Peck.
Multiple dates are already set for the trial, which will be done in various stages, Crown prosecutor Georges Prat told Judge Susan Sangha.
While pleas have yet to be entered, Peck told Glacier Media that not guilty pleas will be entered.
Both Peck and Smart have significant records as defence lawyers. They were both among defence counsel for two men accused in the Air India terrorist bombing trial in Vancouver in 2005. Their clients were acquitted.
In the Air India case, 331 people died as a result of two bombs aboard aircraft. Two baggage handlers died at Tokyo’s Narita airport while 329 died when an Air India Boeing 747 blew up off the coast of Ireland.
