Two of three high school coaches charged with sex offences remain in jail pending bail hearings

Two of the three men arrested this week in connection with the alleged sexual assault of two students at a Montreal school will have to spend the weekend in jail, while they wait for their lawyers to build a case for bail.

The three men, formally charged Thursday following their arrest at the École Secondaire Saint-Laurent in Montreal’s Saint-Laurent borough where they taught, were part of the same girls’ basketball team, police say.

Daniel Lacasse, 43, who’s facing one count of invitation to sexual touching of a minor between 2010 and 2012, will return to court on Feb. 10.

Co-accused Robert Luu, 31, will return to court on Tuesday. He is facing two counts of sexual touching and one count of sexual assault, but on a different alleged victim, this time between 2014 and 2017.

His lawyer, Sharon Sandiford, told the court she would need about three hours to argue for the release of her client.

She also requested the presence of a Cantonese interpreter. The accused is French-speaking, but members of his family said they would prefer to testify in their mother tongue.

“The Crown is objecting to the release of my client who is presumed innocent so that means a judge will decide whether he's released or not,” Sandiford told reporters outside the courtroom.

The Crown wouldn’t explain why it agreed to the release of one suspect — 43-year-old Charles-Xavier Boislard — but opposed the other two.

In the meantime, Montreal police urged other potential victims to come forward. Some media outlets reported that a third woman contacted them, but no new charges have been laid.