Sask. man in jail after having appeal dismissed in 2017 sexual assault

A 31-year-old man who was ordered last week to turn himself in to police is now in prison.

Last week, the courts ordered Awet Mehari to turn himself in within 48 hours after his appeal was dismissed in his sexual assault case. It was Jan. 2019 when Mehari was convicted of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman on Sept. 30, 2017; he was 27-years-old at the time of the incident.

Mehari made an appeal following his conviction, resulting in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeals overturning the decision. However it was later reinstated by the Supreme Court of Canada, which also returned the matter to the Saskatchewan Court to consider two other appeal grounds that weren’t initially part of the case at the time.

The Sask. Court of Appeals dismissed the two other grounds of the appeal on Feb. 19, 2021 and ordered Mehari to turn himself in. He came into Regina Police custody on Feb. 22.

Police say Mehari has since been transported to a closed-custody facility to serve his sentence.

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