Case of U.K. sailors facing sex assault charges back in court

A preliminary hearing is scheduled to be heard today for three British sailors charged with sexually assaulting a woman in Halifax in 2015.

Simon Radford, Joshua Finbow and Darren Smalley are charged with sexual assault and group sexual assault in a barracks at CFB Shearwater on April 10, 2015.

The Crown withdrew charges against a fourth British sailor, saying a conviction was unlikely.

When they were arrested last April, the men were in Nova Scotia to participate in a hockey tournament with local Armed Forces personnel.

The case is proceeding in a civilian court because the offences were allegedly committed against a female civilian and the men were off-duty at the time.

None of the allegations has been tested in court.