Battleford Court of King's Bench. (Image Credit: (File photo/ battlefordsNOW Staff))

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

Meadow Lake sex assault trial dropped

Feb 5, 2026 | 10:09 AM

A sexual assault trial involving two men from Edmonton, and allegations that stem from Meadow Lake, will not be proceeding in April as planned.

The charges against Gagandeep Gill and Balraj Sidhu, have been stayed by the Crown.

The exact reason is not known, but according to a statement provided by the Ministry of Justice, to move forward with a prosecution, public prosecutors must be satisfied that there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction and that it is in the public interest to continue with a prosecution.

The Ministry also explained prosecutors must review cases on an ongoing basis to make sure the case continues to meet the standard for prosecution.

“After careful consideration, it was determined these cases did not meet the prosecution standard. Given this assessment, the prosecutor directed a stay of proceedings,” they said.

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In the early morning hours of Feb. 6, 2024, Meadow Lake RCMP received a report of a sexual assault at an address in the community.

The investigation determined two female youths were sexually assaulted and the accused were arrested at the scene.

The trials for Gill and Sidhu had been scheduled for April 13, 2026.

When the Crown directs a stay of proceedings, they do have one year to bring the case back to court should new evidence come to light.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell