A woman was sentenced to a month of house arrest after pleading guilty to several charges of assault against her then-spouse.
In Inuvik Territorial Court Jan. 19 the woman, who will not be named to protect the identity of children involved in the case, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault. Judge Christine Gagnon sentenced her to 30 days of house arrest and put her on probation for a year following her release.
"The recommendation is reasonable and appropriate," said Gagnon in her judgment. "There might have been some difficulties in their relationship coming from (the boyfriend's) conduct to (the accused.)
"It certainly highlights the need for (her) to access counselling."
Crown prosecutor Emma Skowron told court RCMP were called to a residence on April 19 from a woman saying her common-law spouse had come home intoxicated and kicked her and their children out of the home.
When RCMP arrived, they found the man outside of the home with a bloody mouth. Upon entering the building, police met the woman and were told she had punched her spouse in the face.
Skowron said police were called a second time to the couple's home on May 31. This time, the woman was drunk and had locked herself into the apartment with one of the children. While her spouse had a key to the apartment, the woman had barricaded the door to prevent entry. The man told police he had fled the apartment with one of the children because she had threatened to hurt him.
Police forced their way into the apartment and found the woman lying intoxicated in her bed. The child was found asleep in its own bed unharmed. Police were informed the woman had come to the apartment intoxicated and was asked to leave by her spouse. She then became aggressive, threatening the man and swinging her fists at him, which prompted him to flee.
"This is a repeat assault on the same victim," said Skowron. "The assault occurred in the presence of a child. The door was barricaded and damage was done to the door."
The woman's lawyer, Charles Davison, told court while she was the one facing charges the relation was mutually abusive, with the spouse repeatedly trying to kick the woman out and being overly controlling in the relationship.
He also pointed out the woman had been sober since the last incident and has been attending counselling twice a week to get her life back on track.
"The two of them have separated and she has no intention of reconciling that," he added.