After appeal dismissed, man convicted of sexual assault turns himself in to police

A Regina man convicted of sexual assault in 2019 is behind bars after his final appeal was dismissed.

The Regina Police Service said Awet Mehari turned himself in Monday, three days after the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal dismissed the final two grounds of his appeal.

“He has been transported to a closed-custody facility to serve his prison sentence,” the police said in a media release. “This matter is now concluded.”

In September of 2017, Regina police got a call about the alleged sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman. After their investigation, police charged Mehari.

He was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to three years in prison, but that verdict was overturned by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal and a new trial was ordered.

On Dec. 4 of last year, however, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned that decision and reinstated the conviction. It also sent the case back to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal to consider two other possible grounds for appeal.

According to police, Saskatchewan’s top court dismissed the appeal Friday and ordered Mehari to turn himself in to police.