It will likely be at least a year before the central figure in a bizarre Langley kidnapping and sexual assault case goes to trial.
Three of the four people charged in kidnapping a Langley woman twice in the space of one week in 2014 appeared in Surrey Provincial Court on Friday morning.
William Bassett Jr., 39, was charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, and assault on Dec. 4.
A heavyset man, balding on top with a close-cropped haircut and a beard, Bassett appeared via a video link from the Surrey Pre-Trial Centre.
Also in the courtroom were Charlene Mae Wald, 43, and Alisha Diane Wald, 21, each facing a kidnapping charge. They have been released on bail.
Andreas Jacobus Macrea Bronk, 26, is also in custody and charged with kidnapping; he is scheduled to appear before a judge next week.
Bassett’s lawyer, Kristy Neurauter, said the complicated case will take some time to get to trial.
Each of the four co-accused, including the Walds, are apparently being represented by different lawyers.
Meanwhile, Bassett is also facing another trial for a separate case in Surrey, in which he is charged with kidnapping, unlawful confinement, and attempting to obstruct justice.
According to the Langley RCMP, the Langley case began on May 17, 2014 when a woman told police she had been sexually assaulted and confined overnight, before managing to escape from a building in the Brookswood/South Langley area. Police investigated and made an arrest.
Just a week later, the woman was reported missing. RCMP located her two days later and freed her. She had been held in various locations in Surrey and Langley. Police said she showed signs of a physical beating and said she had been sexually assaulted again. She said the same man was responsible.
Bassett is expected to remain in custody while awaiting trial.
Bronk was already in jail when he was charged in the kidnapping case, as he was arrested last year in relation to a home invasion in Langley City and charged with break and enter and assault with a weapon.
Bassett will be back in court in early February.