A man will serve 87 days on weekends for being caught by police with his fist raised at his spouse.
In Inuvik Territorial Court March 24 the man, who will not be identified to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded guilty to assault. Judge Robert Gorin went along with a joint-proposal and sentenced him to 90 days, minus three days credit for two days of time served, and permitted him to serve his sentence on weekends.
Crown prosecutor Travis Weagant told court Inuvik RCMP were called to an apartment on Nov. 23 by the man's spouse.
Upon entering the apartment, police heard the man yelling at her, asking "Do you want me to hit you?"
RCMP followed the shouts to a room where they saw the man raising his fist at his spouse, who was partially hiding behind a doorway. The man was placed under arrest and charged.
"To the benefit of the public," said Gorin. "A gesture like that is clearly enough to make it assault."
Defence lawyer Kate Oja said the man was a second generation survivor of the residential school system and spent much of his childhood in foster care. She added he was exposed to and a victim of domestic violence at an early age.
Noting the man had a prior criminal record of similar offences to the same victim, Judge Gorin said he did not appear to be "getting the message."
"It's fortunate for you that you didn't actually hit your victim the way you were gesturing," he said. "You grew up in very difficult circumstances and it's far more difficult for people who had the experiences you've had to stay out of trouble.
"But you did experience a significant amount of trauma in your youth."