Three Toronto police officers from 51 Division have been charged with sexual assault and gang sexual assault in an alleged attack on a woman last month.

Constables Leslie Nyznik, 38, Joshua Cabero, 28, and Sameer Kara, 31, turned themselves in Thursday morning and appeared in court in connection with a Jan. 17 incident, according to a police statement.

Police union president Mike McCormack previously told the Star that the alleged victim is a female member of the Toronto Police Service. The officers, who have been on the force for six or fewer years, were off-duty at the time of the alleged assault, police said in a statement Thursday.

Each released on $15,000 bail, the three are prohibited by their bail conditions from contacting the alleged victim or each other, except to plan their defence. They were also ordered not to possess or consume alcohol and to avoid two downtown Toronto bars and a strip club.

Standing side-by-side in the prisoner’s box, the men wore solemn expressions as the allegations against them were read aloud in court. When asked if they agreed to the terms of bail, each replied, “Yes, I do.”

The judge issued a publication ban on evidence heard Thursday and on the alleged victim's identity.

TPS spokesperson Mark Pugash said the officers have been suspended with pay, which is required under the Police Services Act unless an officer is sentenced to jail time.

“At the conclusion of the criminal process, there will be a Police Services Act investigation, and the maximum penalty … is dismissal,” Pugash said.

The men were released to sureties, who pledged to turn them in if they violate their bail conditions. A woman who said she lives with Cabero acted as his surety. Kara’s father stood in as his, while a close friend of Nyznik served as his.

Cabero left the courthouse first, followed by Kara and Nyznik, who exited together. All three refused to answer questions from the media, as did their lawyer, Gary Clewley.

Reached at his Markham home later Thursday, Kara, a former member of the TAVIS anti-violence unit, hung up without comment.

At a press conference, Police Chief Bill Blair would not confirm how long the investigation took, but rejected suggestions that it had failed in any way. “The investigation needed to be conducted, it was conducted and those charges are laid. That matter is now before the courts and I won’t be commenting further,” he said.

Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), previously told the Star it does not normally conduct investigations involving off-duty officers.

The investigation was carried out by the professional standards unit in consultation with the sex crimes unit. Blair denied it was inappropriate for police to investigate themselves, saying there had been consultations with the SIU. The police units “possess a great deal of expertise. It was done, in my opinion, quite appropriately,” he said.

“We take these matters very seriously. We take them very seriously for all victims of sex crimes. It was taken very seriously, and certainly it’s a matter of very significant concern with the organization and with me,” Blair said, adding that police are ensuring appropriate support for the alleged victim.

Nyznik was present at a 2010 incident that a judge later called an “unlawful extrajudicial punishment that will shock the public.”

In that case, Judge Ford Clements found that Nyznik’s then-partner, Const. Christian Dobbs, had used his elbow to repeatedly strike Toronto cook Raymond Costain, who was lying on the ground and handcuffed. The incident was captured on the patrol car’s dashboard camera.

Dobbs was charged with assault following the judge’s ruling. Nyznik, who testified in the case, was not charged.

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“There was a contrived effort to justify the use of force,” Clements said, characterizing the police officers’ testimony as “indifferent to the truth.”

Chief Bill Blair used a clip from the dashcam in a video message sent out to the entire police force that year, reprimanding officers for bad behaviour.

“If you want to be an idiot, you don’t get to be an idiot wearing our uniform,” Blair told the force. “I am quite prepared to hold people accountable for their actions.”

The officers will next appear in court March 20.