BRIDGEWATER, NS - A man accused of imprisoning and raping a 16-year-old boy in Nova Scotia has opted for trial by judge and jury.

David James Leblanc, 47, faces seven charges including kidnapping, uttering threats and sexual assault. His preliminary hearing is slated for April 29.

Friends of the victim were in the Bridgewater courtroom and spoke exclusively with QMI Agency.

"We will drive down here from (Halifax) every time this case happens. (The victim) is doing OK, but he needs support like this," said a 17-year-old boy who wishes to remain anonymous.

Leblanc was facing previous charges of sexually assaulting two boys, ages five and two, in Nova Scotia and producing child pornography in 2010.

In late September 2012, a 16-year-old boy turned up at a rural home in Upper Chelsea, N.S., half naked, chained at the ankles and wrists and begging for help.

Police said the young man told them he had been snatched from the street in Halifax, driven to a remote shack and chained up.

He said two men raped him over two weeks before he escaped.

The second accused, Wayne Alan Cunningham, 31, was found dead Oct. 3 in northern Ontario, about three hours outside of Thunder Bay, ON.

Leblanc was arrested nearby a few days later.
A third man, John Leonard MacKean, 63, from the Halifax area, was arrested in November.

He is charged with sexual assault and communicating with the purpose of obtaining sexual services from a person under 18. He is now free on bail and awaiting his trial.