Abuse details best left unpublished

As I read the front page article “Pedophile sentenced for molesting young girls” in the June 2 issue, I was absolutely appalled at how the reporter, Sara Minogue, went into detail on the sexual abuse one nine-year-old victim had to endure at the hands of a pedophile.

You may argue that the public has the right to be informed of what happens in Iqaluit, in Nunavut or in the rest of our country. This time, your news report definitely crossed the line as to what the public should know. I find it extremely offensive that the reporter gave herself the liberty of writing out in such explicit detail the sad events. Publicizing the name of the accused guilty party is fine to me. We have the right to be informed if a pedophile lives in our neighborhood. That particular person is responsible for his own actions. Although the young girl’s name is not mentioned, she and her family do not deserve to have such a story go in explicit detail. How would you feel if this would happen to you? Would you want a reporter to write this about your child?

Nunatsiaq News has definitely crossed the line here in what is regarding public information. There is a limit to what we should and shouldn’t know. This is not a question of freedom of speech. It’s what we call privacy and respect.

As a reader, I enjoy your newspaper. I hope I don’t come across any more of this type of reporting in the future.

Brian Martel
Iqaluit