A former Taliban captive, who fled with his family to Canada after they were released by their captors, is now in the custody of law enforcement and facing 15 separate charges stemming from sexual assault to “uttering death threats” over incidents “alleged to have occurred since the family’s arrival in Canada,” CNN reports.
Joshua Boyle, his wife Caitlin Coleman and their three children were welcomed into Canada with open arms, by none other than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, after they were freed from several years in captivity in Afghanistan. Boyle, and Coleman, who was pregnant at the time, were kidnapped by the Taliban while on a “humanitarian” mission in the country, and were rescued five years later by Pakistani forces in a raid on a hidden Taliban compound.
Today was a wonderful experience for my family, and Ma’idah Grace Makepeace seemed truly enamoured. Incidentally, not our first meeting with @JustinTrudeau, that was ’06 in Toronto over other common interests, haha. pic.twitter.com/Aj2eVGJoux
— The Boyle Family (@BoylesVsWorld) December 19, 2017
But according to Canadian news agencies, Boyle’s transition back to normal life hasn’t gone smoothly, and Wednesday he was arrested on eight counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of unlawful confinement/kidnapping, one count of uttering a death threat, one count of “causing someone to take a noxious substance,” and one count of misleading police.
Boyle’s lawyer told CNN that his client has not yet seen the charging documents, but that is not uncommon “at this stage.” The court itself has imposed two publication bans, and media is barred from attending the bail hearings or conducting interviews with potential witnesses.
This is the latest chapter, but no means the most bizarre, in the Boyle family’s saga. After being captured, the pair was reportedly tortured and Boyle’s wife was raped. They had several children while in captivity, one of whom was killed by their captors. After five years, they were rescued when Pakistani forces attacked the Taliban stronghold where they were being held, but they were then left to fend for themselves. They found their way to help, but then refused to relocate to the United States, instead choosing to emigrate to Canada and settle there.
Boyle’s lawyer told media that his client was innocent of the charges, but also that “ultimately it is the strain and trauma he was forced to endure for so many years and the effects that had on his mental state that is most culpable for this.”