Convicted sex offender in small NWT community accused of new crimes

A convicted sex offender who targeted older women in a Beaufort Delta community 15 years ago is now charged with a number of new crimes, including aggravated sexual assault and “hundreds” of sexual assaults on a minor.

The man was released from prison in March 2011 after serving a six-year sentence for three counts of sexual assault on elderly women.

RCMP have sworn that from August 2014 to June 20, 2020 there were “hundreds of sexual assaults” on a minor under the age of 14, who also was shown pornography throughout 2019.

Court documents claim another minor was allegedly sexually touched for more that 11 months in 2015 before being sexually assaulted in 2016.

A woman was sexually assaulted and choked in the community on June 6, and a woman was assaulted with damage done to her property on June 20, police allege.

A man was allegedly sexually assaulted on June 20 in the same community.

Nine years ago, at the time of the convicted sex offender’s release, the CBC reported some residents in the community were so afraid of his return that they circulated a petition calling on the chief and council to block the man’s return.

The parole board denied parole to the man three times, reported the CBC, stating his risk of re-offending sexually or violently “remains too high to support a return to the community.”

The man is not being named as it could lead to the identification of his victims, especially minors.

On June 20, the convicted sex offender was charged with 10 new crimes:

• aggravated sexual assault [choking];
• three counts of sexual assault;
• assault;
• mischief under $5,000;
• making sexually explicit material available to a child;
• making child pornography; and
• two counts of sexual exploitation.

The accused remains in custody at the North Slave Correctional Complex. His next scheduled court appearance is before a justice of the peace on Tuesday morning.

While in prison, the convicted sex offender did reportedly take some programs to deal with sexual deviance, anger, and substance abuse.

In March 2011, the CBC quoted a woman in the community as saying the man’s return “brings up a lot of hurt and pain. You know, you just want to keep your kids in and the doors locked.”