'I asked her if I could remove her pants.'

KANGIQSUALUJJUAQ – Elijah Imbeault, the former mayor of Kangiqsualujjuaq, was acquitted on June 1 of sexually assaulting a municipal employee.

Imbeault, 35, is a former teacher who was elected as Kangiqsualujjuaq's mayor in November, 2003, for a two-year term.

Imbeault was smartly dressed in grey suit pants and a matching pale mauve shirt as he stood before the travelling court judge, Claude Bigué, and gave a slow and detailed account of his actions on July 14, 2004, the day the alleged sexual assault occurred.

Imbeault said a female municipal employee had been "flirty" with him for days before the alleged sexual assault occurred.

"You can notice that," Imbeault told the court.

This flirtation evolved into a kiss in the deserted municipal coffee room shortly before 5 p.m., he said. "I asked her if I could remove her pants. She said, ‘if you want to.'"

The woman also gave evidence in court, but was tearful and had trouble recalling details. A witness for the defence said he had seen Imbeault and the same woman peacefully walking together right after the time when the sexual assault was alleged to have occurred.

During his judgment, Bigué said he didn't entirely believe the version of events told by the accused and his witness.

But he said the testimony was sufficiently credible to raise reasonable doubt about Imbeault's guilt, which the woman's version of events was not able to shake.

Imbeault also told the court he left work earlier that day to hunt beluga in the George River – which, although not mentioned in court, was off-limits to beluga hunting at that time.