Crown plans possible new trial for former teacher charged with abusing children
Johnny Meeko’s June 2023 convictions overturned on appeal; proceedings continue on March 2
Former Sanikiluaq teacher Johnny Meeko, shown here outside the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit on May 26, 2023, will return to court on March 2. (File photo by Jeff Pelletier)
This story was updated on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, at 9 a.m. EST.
Crown prosecutors are preparing for a possible new trial of a former Sanikiluaq teacher facing 14 sex-related charges after previous convictions on those charges were overturned by the Nunavut Court of Appeal.
“The Crown is making all of the inquiries and completing the assessment on whether or not that will take place, including meeting with the witnesses on the matter,” Crown prosecutor Stephanie Boydell said in court in Iqaluit Monday.
Justice Mark Mossey granted an adjournment to March 2.
The charges against Johnny Meeko stem from his more than three decades spent working as a teacher at Nuiyak Elementary School in Sanikiluaq starting in 1973.
Most of the allegations involve Grade 3 students he taught from the 1970s through to the early 2000s. They include reports of sexual touching, assault, and other forms of abuse against vulnerable children in his care.
Meeko has denied all accusations. During his trial in October 2023, he claimed a “vision” from God would make his accusers “vanish” and described the allegations as “incredibly unbelievable.”
After a decade of litigation and a nearly three-week trial in Iqaluit that heard testimony from 11 complainants, Meeko was sentenced to 29 years in prison in October 2023.
Meeko appealed, and the Nunavut Court of Appeal overturned the conviction citing procedural errors made by now-retired justice Paul Bychok, according to its decision in December.
Now, the Crown must “make the decisions they have to make and come back and report to court,” Mossey said Monday.
Meeko appeared virtually in the courtroom from the Iqaluit jail.
In the meantime, Meeko is entitled to a bail hearing, which are held to determine whether an arrested person should be released from custody before the trial.
No hearing date has been set yet.
Meeko said would like to await trial out of custody. If the court doesn’t grant him bail, he said he will fire his lawyer Matthew Shadley, who was not in court Monday but was represented by Lauren Shadley.
“If they don’t let me out and be with my nephew or niece, then I’m gonna let that lawyer walk,” Meeko said in Inuktitut.
Clarification: This story has been updated with new information about how many trials Meeko has faced.
I’m going to make a comment that I’m sure everyone’s going to hate, but I feel that it needs to be said regardless. As I understand Mr Meeko’s case through this paper, I’ve learned the following:
– All of his convictions were overturned on appeal and new trials have been ordered.
– Because all of his convictions have been overturned on appeal, he is now presumed innocent of those charges until he might or might not be proven guilty later on.
– He is now entitled to that presumption of innocence like anyone else and that’s important!
– He’s an elderly Inuk who has lived his entire life in Nunavut. He has nowhere else to go. To consider him a flight risk is beyond laughable.
– He has no prior criminal record as far as I could see in the reporting on his case.
Given all of these factors, how on earth could this man not be granted bail? I’m actually shocked that he hasn’t had a bail hearing yet.
I know everyone will flip out reading this. But remember, this man is now presumed innocent. He should have his liberty until the crown proves his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
You left out the part that it was a procedural error and 11 complainants. Sounds like he wants to see his nephew and niece pretty bad tho
You left out the part that convictions aren’t automatically overturned for “procedural errors”. In this case, the court of appeal decided that these “procedural errors” were so serious that they undermined his right to a fair trial and there could have been a different result in his case if those errors had not been committed.
Meeko was also tried first in 2017 in front of former Chief Justice Neil Sharkey who found him guilty of 27 charges with 9 complainants. At that time, Meeko was sentenced to 9.5 years. He appealed that, which led to Meeko’s second trial, where he was also found guilty.
He has been proven guilty twice by two different judges. Why go through this ridiculous charade and improper (in my opinion) use of much-needed court resources to prove, a third time, that this man is guilty?
“Procedural error”.
Also, during the early parts of this man’s trial process, he was living near our house near Nakashuk school. We would see him approaching and talking to young kids walking to and from the school. As a parent, I’d rather err on the side of caution and have him incarcerated.
The reason he shouldn’t be released is because he was charged, tried and convicted from previous crimes. He is serving THAT time for those particular convictions.