Editor’s note: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing.
A Nunavut man who pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual interference, one charge of indecent exposure, one charge of sexual assault and one charge of possession of child pornography has been sentenced to 845 days in jail.
The man’s identity and the community in which the offences occurred cannot be revealed in order to protect the victims and complainants.
The offences occurred between September 2018 and June 2020.
At the age of 28, the guilty party touched bum of his girlfriend’s nine-year-old daughter when she was sleeping with her brother in the grandmother’s room.
More than a year later, a 10-year-old victim told the RCMP that the offender had touched her on two occasions, once in the vaginal area, on top of her clothing, the second time on her bum.
Several months after that, the man pulled down his pants and held his penis in front of a 10-year-old victim while at his girlfriend’s home.
About a month later, the offender touched his cousin’s vagina while she was sleeping.
After the man was arrested, his common-law partner informed police of disturbing pictures on a laptop he used. The police obtained a search warrant, seized the computer and found 192 pornographic images of children. Some of the pictures were downloaded from the internet while others were taken in Nunavut.
“The images generated in Nunavut are 15 images of an erect male penis near the hands or face of young children,” the Nunavut Court of Justice sentencing document states. Only one of the child victims in those particular images could be identified.
The victim of the man’s sexual assault provided a statement to the court that reveals she “is clearly traumatized and experiences ongoing fear as a consequence of the offence.”
The offender is now 31 years old and he’s a Grade 12 graduate. He worked for a mining company as a driller’s helper and working on DEW line site clean-up. He has a teenage daughter from a previous relationship. She lives with her grandmother.
He divulged to the court that he was sexually abused beginning at age seven by an older female, who later became his common-law partner.
“It may be that this sexual activity at such a young age impacted on (the offender’s) perception of what is normal for young children and what constitutes an appropriate relationship, but I am unable to make that link without further information,” Justice Susan Cooper stated.
He has been in jail for over a year while awaiting the conclusion of his criminal court case. This is his first time in custody. He was assaulted while in jail and had to be sent for treatment by a medevac flight.
Cooper ordered him to serve 455 days for possession of child pornography, 180 days for committing sexual assault, 90 days for each of the sexual interference charges and 30 days for the indecent exposure.
The guilty party’s 434 days in jail as of his Aug. 19 sentencing earned him 651 days credit for being in pretrial custody. He had 194 days left to serve of his sentence.
He will be on probation for one year after he gets out of jail and will not be allowed any contact with the victims.
For a period of 10 years, he will not be permitted to be around anyone under age 16 or use the internet unless a sober, responsible adult is present in either circumstance.
He must also submit a DNA sample under the Sexual Offender Information Registration Act.