A Nova Scotia lawyer charged with human trafficking and prostitution-related offences is once again allowed to practise law.
Kings District RCMP started investigating Duane Alan Rhyno after receiving information about potential prostitution activity in Greenwich, N.S. in July.
Police say they found evidence to support human trafficking and prostitution-related charges involving a male suspect and a 26-year-old female victim over the course of the investigation.
The 46-year-old Lower Sackville man faces one count each of human trafficking, financial gain from human trafficking, aiding and abetting prostitution, living off the avails of prostitution, and sexual assault.
Rhyno was released on $5,000 bail earlier this month. His licence was suspended but it has since been reinstated.
The head of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society says a committee weighed the presumption of innocence against the risk to the public. It was determined that any risk to the public and the integrity of the profession can be managed, as long as Rhyno doesn’t handle cases in relation to his charges.
This isn’t the first time Rhyno has been in trouble with the law; he was once convicted of operating a vehicle while impaired and is facing additional charges in connection with drinking and driving, but they have yet to be proven in court.
Rhyno, who has been practising law for 16 years, has also run into professional problems; he has been suspended by the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society for professional misconduct on two separate occasions. In addition to the suspensions, he was required to pay nearly $40,000 in fines.
Rhyno is due back in court later this month
