Jian Ghomeshi trial begins in Toronto

Ghomeshi has plead not guilty to four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking.

What is he charged with and what are the possible penalties?

DeCoutere told local media she was assaulted while on a date with Ghomeshi in 2003. The Crown in this case has opted to proceed summarily with the sexual assault charges, which means the maximum penalty for each of those charges is 18 months in jail. The choking charge, however, carries a potential life sentence.

Ghomeshi faces a separate trial in June on another charge of sexual assault.

Former CBC radio host has pleaded not guilty to five charges in sex case.

Where will the trial be held and when will there be a verdict?

The judge-alone trial, which is expected to last several weeks, involves three complainants and will be closely watched by many across the country.

The congregation of Ancaster Christian Reformed Church, which the Bosma family regularly attended, plans to collectively pray at 10 a.m. each morning once the trial gets underway.

She noted, however, that the three women involved in Ghomeshi’s upcoming trial can likely expect a tough time in the courtroom.

Ghomeshi’s lawyer, Marie Henein, is a well-known Canadian criminal lawyer who worked under iconic defence attorney Edward Greenspan for a number of years.

“The main problem is that when you have a case that’s just one word against the other, which tends to happen more in historic cases…then a criminal case has just such a high standard of proof that it becomes very hard”, Bellehumeur said.

Ghomeshi is represented by defense lawyer Marie Henein, whose former clients include Michael Bryant, the one-time attorney general. The charges against Bryant were ultimately dropped. He was originally charged with seven counts of sexual assault but the Crown withdrew two of those charges in May, saying there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.

Callaghan, who has recently been working on policy matters, is a fair and competent prosecutor, said Anthony Moustacalis, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association.

The complainant, who can not be named due to a court-imposed publication ban, said she’d met Ghomeshi when she was serving canapés at a CBC party.

Has Ghomeshi spoken publicly about the charges? Two days later, the public broadcaster said it had cut ties with the popular host.

Ghomeshi has argued that his acts were consensual rough sex of the kind found in erotic novels such as the best-seller “Fifty Shades of Grey”. Decoutere said she left within an hour and saw Ghomeshi two more times that weekend, but they did not discuss the incident, and no further violent incidents occurred. On Oct. 31, police announced that they were investigating Ghomeshi after two women contacted investigators.