Two Watson Lake-based RCMP officers charged with sexual assault will have their fate decided by a Yukon Supreme Court judge and jury.

In court in Whitehorse this morning, through the on-duty defence counsel, Graham Belak and Shawn McLaughlin elected to be tried by a jury of their peers.

Neither man has appeared in court since the charges were laid against them in March, nor have their lawyers.

The accused men have retained Robert Warren and Andrew McKay, of Warren McKay Groot, a Toronto law firm which specializes in investigation counsel.

The lawyers have policing backgrounds, according to the Investigation Counsel Network website, and offer to "engage in or supervise investigative or security matters" for their clients.

Belak, 29, and McLaughlin, 32, were off-duty at the time of the alleged offence, which is said to have occurred in Watson Lake.

They are charged with assaulting the same woman on the same date. Both have been suspended from police duty with pay.

Neither man was held in police custody for any length of time, nor were they barred from leaving the territory before their court date. They are not required to appear in court until their actual trial date.

Reports from Watson Lake indicate the two are no longer in the southeast Yukon town, situated on the Alaska Highway near the B.C. border.

Crown prosecutor Robert Beck is scheduled to lay out his case against the two men during a preliminary hearing on Aug. 4 and 5 in Whitehorse.