BRIDGEWATER, N.S. -- A Nova Scotia police chief facing sex charges involving a 17-year-old girl has elected to have the case heard in Supreme Court by judge alone.
John Collyer of the Bridgewater police force will appear in provincial court next April for a preliminary hearing and -- if he's committed to stand trial -- he will enter a plea once the matter lands in Supreme Court.
The case was briefly in Bridgewater provincial court Thursday.
The town's police commission suspended Collyer on May 4 for 60 days with pay, the same day it was announced he was facing charges.
Pat Cappello, chairman of the commission, said Thursday that Collyer's suspension with pay has been extended until more information becomes available.
"I cannot comment on the amount of pay or any other matter that may be considered a personnel matter," he said in an email.
The 53-year-old had been placed on administrative leave last August after the province's Serious Incident Response Team confirmed it was investigating the alleged sexual assault.
The independent police watchdog laid one charge of sexual assault and two charges of sexual exploitation against Collyer over allegations dating between April 1 and July 31 of last year.
The girl was 17 at the time of the alleged offences in the Bridgewater area on Nova Scotia's south shore.
Collyer, a 26-year veteran of the police force, had been chief for five years when the allegations surfaced.
