A man who had been teaching on Prince Edward Island for about three weeks before he was charged with sex crimes against a youth has pleaded not guilty — and his lawyer says the matter needs to go to trial soon due to his immigration status.

Roger Mbahia was charged in September after a short investigation by RCMP. The complaint came in on a Thursday, and the new Island teacher was charged the following Monday with sexual assault and sexual interference — which is the sexual touching of a person under 16.

Wednesday in provincial court in Summerside, Mbahia appeared alongside his lawyer and entered not guilty pleas to both summary charges.

Summary charges are less serious than if they had been indictable, and Mbahia’s only choice is to stay in provincial court and have his case heard by a

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