Nunavut man to be sentenced for historical sex crime against a minor

Norman Ford of Rankin Inlet will be sentenced in June for sexual interference involving a minor, a crime he committed between 2004 and 2006. He pleaded guilty to the charge in February. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

A Rankin Inlet man will be sentenced in June for sexual interference involving a minor.

Norman Ford, 64, was charged in 2016 with sexual assault and sexual interference of a minor, whose identity is protected from publication.

The charges are historical; the incidents are alleged to have occurred between 2004 and 2006.

Ford pleaded guilty to the sexual interference charge at a February hearing, which he attended in person.

That’s the same month another victim of Ford’s went public with her story of abuse.

Well-known Nunavut singer and songwriter Susan Aglukark testified before the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in February while the commission hosted hearings in Rankin Inlet.

In her testimony, Aglukark recounted the time, at age eight, when Ford invited her over and then sexually molested her in a bedroom.

More than a decade after her assault, Ford was charged with molesting other victims, and Aglukark gave testimony to help convict him. He received an 18-month sentence, of which he served six months.

Aglukark’s testimony at the commission was the first time she told her story publicly and named her abuser.

Ford will be sentenced for his latest assault charges June 12 in Rankin Inlet.

The original version of this story reported that Ford pleaded guilty to two charges in February. In fact, he pleaded guilty to sexual interference only. Nunatsiaq News regrets the error.