Sexual assault charge stayed against Saskatoon motel owner

The owner of a motel just outside Saskatoon’s downtown core won’t go to trial in charges of sexual assault, extortion and uttering threats.

John Pontes, 75, was due to stand trial this week in Saskatoon Provincial Court on the charges, stemming from accusations made by a woman who stayed at the Northwoods Inn and Suites on Idylwyld Drive North.

However, the charges were stayed, which means the Crown is effectively dropping them for now, with the option of coming back to them within a year.

Pontes was originally arrested and charged in 2017. At the time, police accused him of extorting tenants for sexual favours.

Pontes remains registered as a sex offender after getting a suspended sentence and 18 months’ probation back in February following a conviction for sexual assault in a separate case, in which he was found to have groped a female tenant.

In 2014, Pontes was ordered to pay nearly $45,000 dollars in damages for sexually-harassing a female employee at the hotel after she filed a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC).