OTTAWA — Former hostage Joshua Boyle, accused of assaulting wife Caitlan Coleman, denies he told her how to dress, limited her contact with other men or generally belittled her during their sometimes fractious courtship.
Boyle has testified during his trial in Ontario court that he bought Coleman clothes to help her project a more mature image, and discouraged her from associating with a couple of people he considered bad for her.
Under cross-examination by the Crown, Boyle says that while he was sometimes critical of Coleman, he wanted to build her self-esteem as she struggled with emotional issues.
The couple met online in 2002, married in 2011 and took a backpacking trip through central Asia the next year.
Boyle, 36, has pleaded not guilty to offences against Coleman, including assault, sexual assault and unlawful confinement in the period of October to December 2017.
The offences are alleged to have taken place after the couple returned to Canada following five years as hostages of Taliban-linked extremists who held them in Afghanistan.
The Canadian Press
The Canadian Press
