Prosecutor stays sex assault charge against former Thompson pastor

A sexual assault charge against the former pastor of the Thompson Christian Centre Fellowship has been stayed.

Arnold Pedersen was arrested by Thompson RCMP in November 2017. Ajury trial was originally scheduled for this month but was cancelled when the charges were stayed in September.

• Former Thompson pastor charged with sexual assault

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice did not specify why the charge was stayed but saidtwo criteria must be met for a charge to proceed to trial.

"There must be sufficient evidence to support a reasonable likelihood of conviction.The second consideration is whether charges are in the public interest, which is considered only if the first standard is also met," wrote the spokesperson.

Delays in the court process did not play a role in staying the chargeandit was not affected byR. versus Jordan,wrote the spokesperson.

The Jordan decision is a 2016 ruling of the Supreme Court that sets a limitof 18 months between the laying of charges andthe actual or anticipated end of a trial in provincial court. In superior courts, the ceiling is 30 months.

• Murder, sex assault cases among those tossed due to delays in Canadian courts
• Recent Manitoba court policy to address delays could pit rights against one another: defence lawyers

Pedersen's lawyer had no comment, sayingthe matter was closed. Pedersen did not respond to requests for comment.