An NWT man was sentenced Dec. 3 in NWT Supreme Court to 30 months in prison for sexually assaulting his cousin in a cabin in the Sahtu.
In September 2018, the two cousins met in Norman Wells to spend some time together in the man’s cabin outside of town. The court heard that after some drinking, the man forced himself on the woman, committing a sexual assault.
Natalie Pressman/NNSL photo
The woman spent the night at the cabin and at day break, walked seven kilometres to a friend’s house, where she called the RCMP.
The incident proceeded to a jury trial in February as the man had believed the encounter to be a consensual act. The woman told the jury that she resisted and her cousin was forceful. The jury accepted the woman’s statement of events to be true.
A publication ban prevents NNSL Media from disclosing information that could identify the victim, including the name of the offender.
Defence lawyer Peter Harte told the court that since his client's conviction, the man has taken advantage of every possible counselling and treatment opportunity while in custody. In addition, the offender signed up for an online anger management class that he paid for out of his own pocket.
In his 15 years of legal practice in the North, Harte said he had never seen a client demonstrate that level of engagement in his rehabilitation.
For the 16 months the man has already spent in custody, Harte suggested a sentence of time served for the offender.
The court heard that the guilty part, himself a victim of sexual assault earlier in life, has “significant” Gladue factors at play – social disadvantages experienced by Indigenous peoples. The man attended residential school and was raised by residential schools survivors. Harte also told the court the offender has undergone serious trauma and he blames himself for a friend committing suicide.
Harte points to the “worsening” disproportionate rates of incarceration for Indigenous people in Canada. When Gladue factors were decided in 1999, he said Indigenous people represented two per cent of the Canadian adult population but 10 per cent of the prison population.
Based on a 2013-14 report, Harte said Indigenous people comprised three per cent of the Canadian adult population and 24 per cent of admissions to provincial and territorial correctional facilities. In federal institutions, they represented 20 per cent of all inmates. He said he suspects “the numbers have only gotten worse.”
Harte suggested that a longer sentence is not deterring crimes and that the offender should be released considering the “exceptional steps” he has taken to change his life. He told the court that his client recognizes his issue with alcohol and he had told Harte that “every time (he) drinks, something goes wrong.”
The offender has had steady employment in the trades and was actively involved in helping Elders in the community.
Crown Prosecutor Brenden Green proposed a sentence of three years for the offender, though he admits the man seems to show remorse.
He said that a sentence of time served “does not properly account” for the aggravating factors of the assault and for what was done to the victim.
Among the aggravating factors, Green listed the level of trust there was between the offender and victim as cousins, the fact that the woman herself is Indigenous and the location of a secluded cabin in the woods where she “could not leave.”
He described Harte’s submissions regarding Indigenous representation in the judicial system as a “collateral attack on the whole sentencing regime.”
Justice Andrew Mahar arrived at a sentence of two-and-a-half years for the offender, followed by two years of probation. The man has just under 14 months left when his credit of time served is applied.
While Mahar admitted “the justice system is a clumsy instrument,” he said Harte’s comments on the proportion of incarcerated Indigenous people are “more appropriately addressed by the legislature than the courts.”
He agreed that the statistics are “staggering” but said “I have no faith that what we do here will have a significant impact,” and acknowledged that the victim’s trauma and the sense of safety in the community must be addressed.
Mahar told the offender he was “impressed” by his steps toward rehabilitation.
“I have never seen a more complete effort in an incarcerated inmate,” he said.
In a statement to the court, the offender said his time in custody allowed him to “reflect, look inward and work on (himself).” He said his courses and counselling helped him to “find ways to deal with anger.”
“I am using this awful time in my life as a learning opportunity to better myself and add to the teachings of my Elders,” he said. “I hope you see that I am doing my best to change my life.”