Duane Rhyno, Lower Sackville lawyer, cleared of human trafficking charges

A 47-year-old Lower Sackville lawyer who was arrested in connection with a human trafficking case had three charges against him dropped on Wednesday.

When Duane Alan Rhyno appeared in Kentville provincial court yesterday, he was cleared of two human trafficking-related charges and one count of aiding and abetting prostitution.

Those charges were dismissed by the judge because the Crown did not offer evidence to support them. Attorney Dan Rideout says the Crown was waiting on a search warrant to be executed, but it failed to turn up anything substantial.

The case has had many twists and turns since Rhyno pleaded not guilty to five charges laidon Sept. 30, 2014.

The charges involve the same woman, who was 26 at the time of his arrest. Her name is protected by a publication ban.

Defence lawyer Craig Garson says the case has fundamentally changed since September 2014.

"This whole scheme, which was he was the pimp and she was the prostitute that's all gone," he said.

Timeline

The five original charges were alleged to have happened during a 14-month period between July 2013 and Sept. 30, 2014. These included:

• One count of human trafficking
• One count of financial gain from human trafficking
• One count of aiding and abetting prostitution
• One count of living off the avails of prostitution
• One count of sexual assault

But on Dec. 19, 2014, in Kentville, two charges were added, each for procuring separate individuals for sexual intercourse with the complainant. This allegedly took place on Sept. 30.

The following summer, the charge of living off the avails of prostitution was dropped.

After Wednesday's court appearance, all that remains is the one count of sexual assault and the two procurement charges.

• DuaneRhyno, lawyer charged with sex crimes, opts for trial

"What's now happened is this whole big case they had over this 14-month period, Duane Rhyno is found not guilty of anything," Carson said of the dropped charges.

Rhyno had been required to stay in Nova Scotia and surrender his passport, but as of December 2014, he's able to travel as long as he gives police advance notice of his plans.

Rhyno's licence to practice law was briefly suspended but wasreinstated with restrictions soon after his arrest.

His seven-day trial is set to begin May 16, 2016.