After spending the Easter weekend behind bars, the mayor of Port Coquitlam is free on $10,000 bail on charges of assault against his former girlfriend.

A Vancouver provincial court judge released Scott Young on Tuesday after setting a number of conditions relating to several charges.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Scott Young was met by news photographers following his release on bail Tuesday.
(CBC)

Young, 45, has to stay away from ex-girlfriend Colleen Preston, who alleges he broke into her garage and assaulted her and a friend last week.

He is also charged with breaching an undertaking he signed earlier this year promising to stay away from Preston. Young had been arrested for allegedly harassing the woman back in February, but no charges were laid.

The mayor has also been ordered not to drink alcohol, and he must go to alcohol abuse counselling.

His lawyer, Richard Peck, said Young won't have a problem obeying the court's conditions.

"He's a person of prior good character who's given about 16 prior years of his life to the community he lives in. I think he's entitled to some credit," said Peck.

Back in 2002, Young was charged with assaulting his wife.  The charge was stayed but he was subject to a one-year peace bond.

Peck said his client has not indicated if he will step down as mayor of Port Coquitlam.

"This kind of a case means he's under a cloud, so that means he'll have to assess that. That's a personal and political decision he'll have to make."

Young became a school trustee in the Vancouver suburb in 1990, was elected as a city councillor in 1996 and became the city's 14th mayor in 2001.