A Nova Scotia MLA is standing by his lawyer, after he was charged with sexual assault this week.
Independent MLA Trevor Zinck says he spoke with Halifax defence lawyer Lyle Howe on Monday and he says he thinks there may be a conspiracy surrounding the charges laid against Howe.
"It's unfortunate, you know, he's a young and up-and-coming lawyer," Zinck tells CTV News.
Howe, 26, has been charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault in March, along with 28-year-old Jeffrey Kendall Brown.
They are both due to appear in Halifax provincial court on December 15 to face charges of sexual assault and administering a noxious substance.
The charges stem from an alleged sexual assault that took place on March 21. Police say the victim met with two male acquaintances and she suspected she had been drugged and sexually assaulted when she awoke the next morning.
She went to the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre and reported the alleged incident to police on March 23.
Police say Brown also faces an additional charge of theft under $5,000.
Howe graduated from Dalhousie University in 2006 and appeared in campaigns promoting the Halifax school.
He is representing Zinck, who is charged with fraud, theft and breach of trust in connection with the MLA expense scandal in Nova Scotia.
"I happen to be a high-profile client and some things are coming out of the woodworks," says Zinck. "It's unfortunate, but I'm sure he's going to deal with it, he'll get proper representation."
