Photo: Judge delays verdict in Johnny Meeko case, considers new evidence

Johnny Meeko, left, leaves the Iqaluit courthouse with lawyer James Morton, at right, in August 2015, on day one of his trial. On Sept. 16, Justice Neil Sharkey delayed the verdict of the former Sanikiluaq teacher in a statement read on Sharkey’s behalf by Justice Paul Bychok at the Nunavut court of Justice in Iqaluit. Meeko, who faces more than 30 historical sex crimes alleged by nine former students, stood trial on those charges last summer. “The lawyers in this case… have, as officers of the court, approached me in chambers to tell me that information has come to their attention which I may need to consider before a verdict is reached,” Sharkey wrote in the statement. Sharkey said lawyers will present this new information in open court on Nov. 16. After that, the judge said he would either set a new date for a verdict—if the information is deemed irrelevant—or set a new date to hear more evidence. Police arrested Meeko in Sanikiluaq in 2012. More to follow on Nunatsiaqonline.ca. (FILE PHOTO)