Crown drops sex charges against Iqaluit councillor

SEAN McKIBBON

IQALUIT — The RCMP and the Crown prosecutors have dropped four charges of sexual interference against former Iqaluit Councillor Doug Lem, but Lem says the withdrawal of charges won’t erase the damage that has already been done to his reputation.

“No one’s offered any compensation for what’s happened to us or helped us in any way to get back on our feet. We’re expected to take this big blow and keep on living as if nothing happened,” Lem said Tuesday.

Lem, who was charged Jan. 29, resigned from his position on Iqaluit Town Council, and as chair of the Iqaluit justice committee this week.

He said the charges have taken a big toll on his family and on his business and that he needs more time to recover.

In a letter to Nunatsiaq News he wrote:

“I have just gone through one of the roughest times in my life. I have been accused of something I did not do. I have been arrested. My name and pictures were made public. My son has been challenged at school. My Dad suffered emotionally from this.”

Lem said his business had been hurt by the charges and that he is frustrated with the justice system and the media, which reported on the fact that he had been charged with four sex offences.

“A partial story was told and left in such a way that would fill people’s minds in the worst way,” Lem said.

Crown prosecutor Pam Clark said last week the charges were dropped because there was no reasonable prospect of achieving a conviction.

“We did not have enough evidence to proceed to court with it,” said Staff Sergeant Jim MacDougall. “The difficulty in this is that that particular charge says the touching has to be for a sexual purpose. In this case,we just could not find the evidence to prove there was a sexual purpose behind it.”

MacDougall said the Crown has a much more stringent test than police for deciding whether to proceed with a charge.

In his letter, Lem wrote that he wants to take time to recover.

“We will heal, but it will take time. I feel it will take more time that I have left on Town Council.”