ATLANTIC

Halifax defence lawyer charged with sexual assault

CTV Atlantic Published Monday, November 21, 2011 4:23PM AST

Lyle Howe, right, lawyer for Trevor Zinck, a member of the Nova Scotia legislature charged with fraud, theft and breach of trust, is accompanied by law student Nyall Dabreo, at provincial court in Halifax on Tuesday, June 21, 2011. (Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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A criminal defence lawyer in Halifax has been charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault in March.

Police say 26-year-old Lyle Howe and a second man, 28-year-old Jeffrey Kendall Brown, are scheduled 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 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 Independent MLA Trevor Zinck, who is charged with fraud in connection with the MLA spending scandal.