Woman’s serious assault sentence is reduced over Charter breach

An NWT Territorial Court judge reduced a woman’s sentence for a serious assault by six months as RCMP had violated her Charter rights by filming her naked in police cells.

The 36-year-old woman had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for wounding her best friend of more than 20 years with a scalpel during a verbal argument in Yellowknife in July 2022.

The woman said she had “been on a bender the whole summer,” consuming crack cocaine and alcohol, and has no memory of the assault. She said it would not have happened had she been sober.

“This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she told the author of a pre-sentencing report.

The victim, who was cut from her left ear down the left side of her jaw, required surgery and more than a dozen stitches. According to court documents, the injury has since healed significantly and not left a permanent scar.

The victim said the assault was out of character for her friend and she does not “hold any hard feelings” against her.

“I love her and her family,” she wrote in a victim impact statement.

In September of this year, Judge Jeannie Scott sentenced the woman to 18 months’ imprisonment followed by 18 months’ probation.

Scott said had police not violated the woman’s Charter rights following her arrest, she would have sentenced the woman to two years less a day in prison.

Breach of right against unreasonable search and seizure

According to court documents, the woman was arrested and taken to the Yellowknife RCMP detachment following the assault on the evening of July 14, 2022.

There, police told her to remove all of her clothing, which was seized as evidence.

The woman had been wearing a dress with a two-piece bathing suit underneath. RCMP officers did not document the reason for seizing all of the woman’s clothing.

The woman’s lawyer, Tú Pham, argued that police did not have reasonable and probable grounds to require the woman to remove her bathing suit.

The cell door was left fully open during the strip search. The woman was recorded by surveillance cameras in the detachment in various stages of undress for 48 seconds, including 21 seconds where she was completely naked.

Pham said in court documents that it was not clear which, if any, RCMP staff were watching the monitor at the time, and under what conditions the video recording was kept.

Pham told Cabin Radio the experience left his client – who he said was “an already marginalized Indigenous woman” – “feeling humiliated, thinking about who else may have seen the video of her completely naked in RCMP cells.”

Police provided the woman with an “anti-suicide smock” to wear, despite her showing no signs of self-harming behaviour, as the detachment had no civilian clothing available.

When she was alone in the cell, the woman covered herself head to toe with a blanket while lying down.

The woman was not provided any undergarments or pants and had to wear the smock without underwear for 20 hours. She did not receive other clothing until she was processed at the North Slave Correctional Complex, around 5pm the following evening.

Judge Scott ruled that police filming the woman while she was undressed was “unreasonable in the circumstances.”

“The police should not have videotaped her during this process and should have taken better steps to protect her dignity and privacy when taking the steps to seize her clothing,” Scott said.

She found that RCMP had breached the woman’s Charter right against unreasonable search and seizure and there should be a reduction of her sentence as a remedy.

The judge added that police requiring the woman to wear a smock without underwear or pants for 20 hours also warranted a reduction in her sentence.

Pham said Scott’s ruling “sent out a clear message that this amounted to serious police misconduct and needed to be corrected.”

“This judge’s ruling helps promote society’s collective interest in ensuring that law enforcement agents respect the rule of law and the shared values of our society,” he wrote in a statement to Cabin Radio.

“It helps protect the rights of everyone to be secure from unreasonable police searches and seizures, particularly Indigenous women in police custody.”

Previous concern at Yellowknife detachment

This is not the first time NWT courts have found Charter issues related to video surveillance of people detained at the Yellowknife RCMP detachment.

In 2023, NWT Supreme Court Justice Shannon Smallwood ruled that police had breached another person’s Charter right to be secure against unreasonable search by video-monitoring his cell around the clock, without blurring or pixelating the toilet area.

According to an agreed statement of facts filed in that case, NWT RCMP have since pixelated the toilet areas of detachment cells, meaning those areas are no longer meaningfully visible in footage.

NWT RCMP spokesperson Cpl Josh Seaward told Cabin Radio in a statement that CCTV systems at detachments “remain in place, recording at all times for the safety of persons in custody as well as police,” save for pixelation of the immediate area of toilets.

“Blankets are available should a prisoner wish to cover themselves while undressed,” Seaward wrote, adding the Yellowknife detachment “maintains an ample supply of clothing” that can be provided if needed.

Pham asserts that RCMP should have formal polices on how to conduct the seizure of undergarments being worn by a prisoner.

He said that should include:

• considering why police are seizing undergarments and if they are likely to contain evidence;
• ensuring the accused is not going to be filmed removing their underwear unless the footage automatically blurs or pixelates their body;
• ensuring the clothing seizure does not leave the prisoner completely naked for any period of time; and
• having suitable replacement clothing to provide a prisoner to ensure they are not left bottomless or without undergarments during their time in police custody.

Judge weighs sentencing factors

In sentencing the woman for aggravated assault, Judge Scott considered a variety of factors including the seriousness of the offence, the woman’s personal circumstances and the Charter breach.

“The gravity of the offence in this case is a serious one,” Scott said. “The victim certainly could have died,” being cut with a scalpel.

The judge said it was clear the woman was in active addiction at the time of the assault and she has acknowledged she needs to completely stop using drugs and alcohol.

The judge said the woman successfully completed the first stage of treatment and voluntarily began a second stage of treatment before being removed from the program for relapsing.

“She describes that she cannot explain the attack of her friend of over 20 years, and it is clear that this offence has shaken her and she is sorry for the events,” Scott said.

The judge said the woman had witnessed partying at her house growing up and “things seem to have gone off the rails” in high school, when she described having little supervision. The woman said she began experimenting with alcohol around the age of 12 and tried crack cocaine a few years later.

Scott said the woman has also experienced significant trauma, including the loss of partner in an accident and a “horrific altercation” where she was hit, bitten, choked and strangled by an abusive partner.

Crown prosecutor Brendan Green argued the woman should be sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. He said had police not violated the woman’s Charter right, the Crown would have recommended a sentence of three and a half to four years.

Defence lawyer Pham had advocated for a custody and supervision order of two years less a day, or a custodial sentence of 18 months. He said without the Charter violation, he would have recommended a sentence of two years less a day in jail.

Scott concluded the woman could not serve her sentence in the community as she breached a release order in February 2025 by not returning to Yellowknife or turning herself in to RCMP after being removed from a treatment program.

“I hope that you use this time in custody … to further your steps towards sobriety and to give you even more of a break from drug use,” Scott told the woman in sentencing her to 18 months’ imprisonment, adding she wants the woman to take advantage of any counselling or treatment while she is on probation.

“It is really clear to me that you made some great progress there and I think you are well on your way to dealing with your addictions. And I think there is real hope for you, OK?” Scott continued, referring to the treatment program the woman attended.

“I hope that you continue that work and continue to put that effort in. We know that the road to recovery is a bumpy one and you have already had that experience.”