Who Is Joshua Boyle? Former Taliban Hostage Charged With Sexual Assault, Confinement

Joshua Boyle, the Canadian man who was held captive by a Taliban-linked group in Afghanistan for five years with his wife, was charged with several criminal offences in Ottawa, including sexual assault and unlawful confinement.

Boyle appeared in a criminal court on Monday after he was arrested and a hearing of the case was scheduled for Wednesday. Joshua will remain in police custody in the meantime, Canada’s CBC News reported.

He faces 15 charges, including eight counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of unlawful confinement, one count of uttering threats, one count of public mischief and one count of administering a noxious thing.

According to court documents, the offences happened in Ottawa between Oct. 14 and Dec. 30, 2017, with two alleged victims whose identities were not revealed as they were subject to a publication ban.

Boyle, his American wife, Caitlan Coleman, and children were rescued in Pakistan in October, five years after they were abducted by a group linked to the Taliban while on a backpacking trip in neighboring Afghanistan. All of the couple’s children were born in captivity.

He told the Associated Press, shortly after returning to Canada, that the insurgent Haqqani network in Afghanistan had killed his infant daughter and raped Coleman during the years they were held in captivity.

"The stupidity and evil of the Haqqani network’s kidnapping of a pilgrim and his heavily pregnant wife engaged in helping ordinary villagers in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan was eclipsed only by the stupidity and evil of authorizing the murder of my infant daughter," he said at the time.

"God willing, this litany of stupidity will be the epitaph of the Haqqani network," he added.

Boyle added he was in Afghanistan to provide assistance to villagers "who live deep inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan where no NGO, no aid worker and no government has ever successfully been able to bring the necessary help."

Boyle also expressed his disagreement with U.S.’ foreign policy saying: "Their interests are not my interests."

Boyle moved into his parents' home in Smiths Falls when he returned to Canada in October, but court records showed that he lived at an address in Ottawa, CBC said. The couple met Canadian President Justin Trudeau following their release.

Boyle was previously married to Zaynab Khadr, one of Canada's most outspoken pro-jihadi women and the sister of Omar Khadr, a Canadian imprisoned for 10 years at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after fighting U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Coleman, said in a statement to Toronto Star after Boyle was charged Monday: "I can’t speak about the specific charges, but I can say that ultimately it is the strain and trauma he was forced to endure for so many years and the effects that that had on his mental state that is most culpable for this."

"Obviously, he is responsible for his own actions," she added. "But it is with compassion and forgiveness that I say I hope help and healing can be found for him. As to the rest of us, myself and the children, we are healthy and holding up as well as we can."

Boyle’s attorney, Eric Granger, told CBC News: "Mr. Boyle is presumed innocent. He's never been in trouble before. No evidence has been provided yet, which is typical at this early stage."

"We look forward to receiving the evidence and defending him against these charges," Granger added.