Ex-teacher Johnny Meeko guilty on 13 charges
Some charges retried after Meeko won appeal of 2017 conviction
Johnny Meeko enters the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit during his trial, which began on May 23. Meeko was found guilty on Tuesday of 13 of 17 charges against him, which are largely comprised of sex-related crimes against his former students in Sanikiluaq. (File photo)
Former school teacher Johnny Meeko is guilty on 13 of the 17 sex-related charges he faced, a jury ruled Tuesday at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit.
Meeko, a teacher for 36 years at Nuiyak Elementary School in Sanikiluaq, was charged based on allegations from 11 complainants, most of whom were his former Grade 3 students between the 1970s and early 2000s.
Three of the charges were laid in 2019, and 14 others were being retried after Meeko won an appeal of his 2017 conviction.
The jury found Meeko guilty on 11 of the 14 charges he was being retried on, including sexually touching people under the age of 14 years and sexual assault.
It also found Meeko guilty on two of the three new charges brought forth against him, which were of the same nature.
The jury was undecided on three remaining charges and declared a mistrial. It acquitted Meeko on one charge of common assault.
Following the verdict, Judge Paul Bychok revoked Meeko’s bail and ordered him held in custody to await sentencing.
Meeko will appear again in court July 31, according to Crown prosecutor Abel Dion.
“On that date, the Crown will advise whether we will re-prosecute the three mistrial counts and we will fix a date for sentencing,” Dion told Nunatsiaq News.
Meeko’s three-week trial began May 23. Over eight days of testimony, jurors heard from all 11 complainants as well as three other witnesses who were relatives or former classmates of the complainants.
The complainants told of their experiences with Meeko as their teacher, most of them between the ages of eight and 12 years old at the time.
They said Meeko assaulted them in different ways, sexually touching them on various parts of their bodies both over and under their clothes. As well, they said, he spanked students on their birthdays and asked the children sex-related questions.
The complainants explained why they brought their allegations to police, saying Meeko told them at the time not to confide in anyone else about their experiences.
The jury also got to hear from Meeko himself.
Testifying in Inuktitut with interpretation over two days last week, he accepted certain allegations made against him: spanking students on their birthdays, and touching them across their buttocks to get them to sit straight instead of slouching.
At the same time, Meeko denied other charges in particular allegations of sexual assault, rape, and touching students’ buttocks and breasts for sexual purposes, which he told jurors “never happened.”
A relative of Meeko testified in his defence. She said she was in his Grade 3 class in the 1990s and spoke in particular of the birthday spankings, which she also received as a student in his class.
Recognizing there may have been students who did not consent to being spanked, she acknowledged that every child is different.
In the article about the lawyers closing remarks, I read in plain sight a very common tactic that abusers…or generally narcissists…use very often. When the defense lawyer said:
“look, he’d admitting to wrongdoing, but it doesn’t go further than that!”
That’s such a common tactic that narcissists use when they get caught. They move the goal posts just a little bit further. They show you that they’ve made mistakes and they’re not perfect…but they didn’t do what you’re accusing them of. That’s their deepest darkest secret and they’ll do anything to hide it. They may be so committed to the lie that they may also believe it themselves.
To all the victims: I’m sorry you have to go through this. He and his defense lawyer probably made you feel very confused too. Remember that when fighting with narcissistic abuser like this, you’ll never be 100% sure that what you believe is true. A skilled narcissist will make you question your own reality, they’ll downplay agreed upon facts, they might even start rumours that you’re “crazy” or “vengeful”.
Get mental help support if you can because even though he’s behind bars, you need tools and skills to remove him from your life. All the best!
He really thought he was going to get away with this, he expected his victims to stay quiet forever, it took them so long to speak out because they were probably so scared, for sure there are more that have not speak out but maybe JUST maybe they will come forward.
Those of you who came forward, you are not alone, seek help right away, even if you think you are alone, there are people out there who care for you, who needs you in their life, you are never alone in this world, you are strong and brave enough to stand up for yourself.