CALGARY - A dangerous offender hearing for a man convicted of torturing his former roommate is to begin this summer.
Dustin Ward Paxton, 33, was convicted by a Calgary judge last February of aggravated assault and sexual assault.
Crown prosecutor Joe Mercier said Wednesday the Alberta Attorney General's Department gave permission for the hearing to go ahead after lengthy delays with getting a psychiatric assessment.
If Paxton is deemed a dangerous offender, he can be kept in jail indefinitely.
The hearing is scheduled to begin July 15 and is expected to last four weeks.
It is to include testimony from forensic psychiatrist Dr. David Tano, who conducted a 60-day examination of Paxton last year.
Paxton was charged in 2010 after a man was found dumped, near death, at a Regina hospital. He was badly emaciated, bruised, broken and bleeding, and his lower lip was nearly gone. The man weighed less than 100 pounds.
Justice Sheilah Martin concluded Paxton had abused and starved his former roommate on a regular basis. The victim cannot be named because of a court order.
Martin said the victim could not consent to being a "whipping post" and there was "evidence of wounding, maiming, disfiguring and his life was in danger on two occasions.''
The two men originally met in Winnipeg but moved to Calgary to start a moving business. They eventually shut down the business and started moving from motel to motel until they ended up in Regina.
Neighbours there testified they called 911 after hearing screaming, thumping and loud noises from Paxton's apartment.
Paxton has been in custody since his arrest in August 2010.
