BATTLEFORD – A non-jury trial has been scheduled for a man accused of holding a girl hostage against her will at a remote northern Saskatchewan cabin.
The trial for 42-year-old Aaron Gardiner will be held Sept. 12 in Battleford Court of Queen’s Bench.
Gardiner has been in custody since he was arrested almost two years ago. There were numerous delays in the case against Gardiner after he fired several lawyers and some lawyers quit.
He was arrested in a high-risk takedown by RCMP tactical officers who were flown in two CH-146 Griffon helicopters to an isolated cabin to rescue a girl.
Île-à-la-Crosse RCMP say they received a call on April 23, 2020, that a girl was being held against her will for four days at a remote cabin across from Île-à-la-Crosse Lake. The Lake was covered in water and slush so the RCMP called in the Canadian Armed Forces and the Saskatchewan Emergency Response Team (ERT) to help. Within hours, two Canadian Armed Forces CH-146 Griffon helicopters flew the ERT tactical RCMP unit across the lake and landed beside the cabin.
Police rescued the girl who only had minor bruising and she was flown back to her family in Île-à-la-Crosse.
Gardiner allegedly tried to flee from the cabin and resisted arrest. The RCMP deployed a Taser and he was treated in Île-à-la-Crosse for minor injuries.
Police seized firearms and drugs from the cabin. Gardiner was charged with unlawful confinement, assault, overcoming resistance, uttering threats, resisting arrest, possessing a firearm for a dangerous purpose, use of a firearm in commission of an indictable offence, proceeds of crime, and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Three months after his arrest, police added more charges after more alleged victims came forward.
The charges against Gardiner haven’t been proven in court.
