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Michael Kobylanski denied bail for 3rd time on sex-assault charges

Ombudsman seeks information after man with intellectual disability confined in home

A 41-year-old Dartmouth, N.S., businessman accused of a violent sexual assault against a teenage girl has once again been denied bail.

This is the third time Michael Raymond Kobylanski has made a bid for release since his arrest in July 2015.

As in the previous two attempts, the reasons for the judge's decision and the arguments presented at this bail review hearing at the Nova Scotia Supreme Court are banned from publication. That's to protect Kobylanski's right to a fair trial, which is now scheduled for October 2018.

Kobylanski was initially tried last March on these charges. A jury convicted him of assault and acquitted him on a charge of choking the girl. But the jury was deadlocked on the most serious sexual assault charges, including sexual assault with a weapon, resulting in an order for a new trial.

Kobylanski was sentenced to 20 months in jail and three years' probation on the assault charge. He's already served the jail part of that sentence.

While dates for a new trial have been set, Kobylanski is on the hunt for a new lawyer. He has parted ways with two lawyers so far: the one who represented him at the trial and one who had agreed to take over the case.

Kobylanski represented himself at this latest bail review hearing.

In addition to these outstanding charges, Kobylanski was convicted of a violent sexual assault against another teen girl in Ontario in 1995. He served nearly all of his 12-year sentence on that charge.