Sentence delayed for former Nunavut teacher guilty of sex crimes

Johnny Meeko, wearing a baseball cap, exits the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit in May 2017. (PHOTO BY STEVE DUCHARME)

A long-anticipated resolution in the case of convicted sex offender Johnny Meeko was derailed again on Monday, Feb. 5, when the court granted another adjournment request to the former teacher, after he fired his lawyer.

Those in the courtroom inside the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit were expecting to hear statements from Meeko’s victims and suggestions for sentencing by lawyers.

Meeko, 62, was found guilty of 27 sex-related convictions by Nunavut chief justice Neil Sharkey last December.

Those convictions addressed numerous historic accusations of sexual misconduct by Meeko when he worked as a teacher in Sanikiluaq between 1972 and 2007.

Instead, Meeko’s lawyer, James Morton, told Sharkey by phone that he was stepping down as legal counsel.

Morton said that his ousting as counsel was not a financial issue, “nor has Mr. Meeko sought to do anything unethical, but he has simply lost confidence following his conviction.”

“Essentially Mr. Meeko has fired you, is that correct?” Sharkey asked Morton, which he confirmed.

Sharkey thanked Morton for his service and pushed back sentencing submissions until April 13, allowing Meeko time to consult with his new lawyers.

But Sharkey added he will move fast to pass sentence after receiving those submissions, and scheduled an April 26 court date to read a final sentence “by hook or by crook.”

Meeko has lived in Iqaluit on restrictive bail conditions since 2013, and even more restrictive “house arrest” since his December conviction.

Meeko did not speak directly to the court during his latest appearance, but he was present in the courtroom, wearing blue sweatpants and a tucked-in T-shirt emblazoned with an “On the Road Again with Wayne Rostad” logo.

Victims who were expected to deliver impact statements did not attend court through an open video link from Sanikiluaq because of the impending adjournment, Sharkey explained.

The delay is only the latest in the “long and rocky history” of a “complex” case, he said in a statement, reminding the public and Meeko’s victims there is “light at the end of the tunnel,” despite the delays.

RCMP officers arrested Meeko in 2012 after receiving numerous reports of sexual misconduct from former students spanning several decades since the 1970s.

Additional complainants came forward after Meeko’s arrest, bringing the total number of complainants to nine.

Meeko faced those accusations during a two-week trial in 2015, but a final verdict remained in limbo after his lawyer received new information suggesting one or more of Meeko’s accusers falsified testimony and applied to reopen the case.

But Meeko ultimately dropped that application, allowing Sharkey to proceed to a decision, where he found Meeko guilty of 27 offences, including sexual assault, assault and sexual touching.

Meeko was found not guilty on the more serious charges of rape and forcible confinement.

Sharkey has yet to release his written decision on Meeko’s convictions, but promised lawyers they would receive a final draft ahead of sentencing submissions in April.