‘Far out of whack’: Judge rejects suggested sentence in sexual assault case
Crown, defence lawyers asked for 120-day sentence; judge calls that too short
A Nunavut judge declined to reduce the sentence of a convicted sex offender to 120-days, but did agree inter-generational trauma would be taken into consideration in his final decision. (File photo)
A Nunavut judge has rejected a joint submission by Crown and defence lawyers to sentence a Baker Lake man convicted of sexual assault to 120 days, calling it “far out of whack” of judicial norms.
In the Nunavut Court of Justice on April 11, Justice Paul Bychok said a “fit and proper” sentence for Paul Tuluqtuq would be three years in a federal penitentiary.
However, due to circumstances of the case he sentenced Tuluqtuq to two years in jail less a day, to be served in Nunavut.
In his sentence, Bychok said that last Sept. 6, at about 6 a.m., while intoxicated, Tuluqtuq entered the female victim’s home uninvited. A court-ordered ban prevents the publication of the woman’s name.
The woman was asleep on the couch and awoke to find Tuluqtuq touching her genitals over her clothing. When the woman yelled, “What the heck are you doing?” Tuluqtuq fled the home.
Tuluqtuq and the woman knew each other but only as acquaintances, Bychok noted.
Tuluqtuq pleaded guilty to sexual assault on Jan. 23.
In court on April 10, Crown attorney Christopher McCarthy and defence lawyer Alan Regel offered a joint submission calling for a 120-day conditional sentence for Tuluqtuq followed by 12 months’ probation.
But in his decision the next day, Bychok said the lawyers’ request was beyond the “expected sentencing range in the circumstances of this serious offence.”
Regel defended the joint submission, stating that if it wasn’t for Tuluqtuq’s criminal history he would have asked for a suspended sentence.
Bychok said that in sentencing, he considered the Gladue principle, which takes into account systemic and background factors experienced by Indigenous people.
“I must, and I do, also account for the all too real effects of intergenerational trauma which Inuit have suffered as a result of colonialism,” he said.
The judge reminded Tuluqtuq about his “long and troubling criminal record” dating back to 1998, noting 10 prior convictions for violent crime.
The court is not convicting you of past criminal offences, Bychok said, “but the fact is that you are a repeat offender with a serious criminal record.”
He called the lawyers’ joint recommendation “so far out of whack that if I were to impose it, it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.”
In addition to two years less a day in jail in Nunavut, Bychok also sentenced Tuluqtuq to 12 months’ probation after he is released.
Tuluqtuq will also be listed on Canada’s national sex offender registry for the next 10 years.
Well done Sir. I also do nott understand where counsel on either side was in their thinking
“I must, and I do, also account for the all too real effects of intergenerational trauma which Inuit have suffered as a result of colonialism…”
A recited liturgy delivered to appease the zealots. Why not call it what it is, an admission that it is okay to “expect less” of people from a particular background. The result of making everyone a victim, as we can see, is the re-victimization of the ‘real’ victims of a crime.
Agreed. It just seems to be an excuse for not taking responsibility for your own actions.
A well meaning idea that unintendedly distorts the application of justice
You are right, of course, to a point. Judges have to follow and apply the law too. They can’t make stuff up as they go along. The Supreme Court of Canada has said judges have to account for intergenerational trauma. Not too long ago, our government extended that, finally, to Inuit women as an aggravating factor. There is so much a judge has to balance. The real question is why prosecutors continually seem to devalue the rights of Inuit female victims? Where is their accountability?
What about the trauma that he imposed on this woman?
Is his trauma more important?
Because his grandfather went to residential school does he not know right from wrong?
Now if she or her kids commit a crime do we apply the glaude principal? When does it end?
Also I had no idea that after 10 years you are no longer a sex offender….
Too bad they can’t sentence dumbass for verbal abuse and all too. Common for verbal abuse up north. Followed by power tripping.
This man already dealt with trauma by imprisonment. The crown and judge should already know.
Yea totally… he should be released immediately and given a massive compensation package.
This is the type of mentality that prevents Nunavut from moving forward. What he did is sick and he 1000% deserves to be behind bars.
He’s lucky he didn’t get 2+ years because he’d be in a Federal Prison, which is definitely not a “correctional healing facility”. It is truly sick that the defense asked gor 120 days.
Gladue principle for rapes and murders should never be considered.
In reality, the ‘correctional healing facilities’ aren’t ‘correctional healing facilities’ either.
This is s serious crime for a sleeping woman to be assaulted that way in her own home where she should feel safe. Your home is your castle as the saying goes. Now this woman has been traumatized and it will take her a very long time for her to feel safe again. Thank you for taking this crime seriously. Women are not play things for men to do what they want with.
This past week my 2 year old granddaughter was sexually molested by her biological father in their home earlier in the morning hours. The father told the police I did not do it nor I can’t remember doing it. As I commented in last weeks post there are at least 62 sexual pedophiles walking amongst our community and the boys, girls, men and women are not seeking to press criminal charges against the molesters and rapists. The number one reason why they do not press criminal charges against the attackers is because the courts and or defense lawyers victimize the victims by belittling them in the court room when they are asked to identify the attacker. The number 2 reason why they do not press criminal charges against the attackers is because it was a family member (brother, son, uncle, father or grandfather). The victim does not want to be used as the black-sheep of the family because they are the people who are breaking up the family dynamic. And the defense lawyer and or judge using the Gladue is unfair to the victims and those living in the community. Now my granddaughter will forever be traumatized by all men. It is time for the Inuit in the North and South to start taking serious action in bringing these known pedophiles to court and sending them to prison where they belong.
My nephew was killed by a drunk driver and fled the scene of crime and got only 2 years of probation. The “justice system” is useless
Another person is walking free after running over a little girl and killing her and did one year in jail
If I’m thinking of the same case you are, the guy was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident where there was a death. You may be surprised but 1 year in jail is at the top end of what courts give for this type of offence ever in southern Canada unless there’s a really bad criminal record.
We need many more Justice Bychoks.
Nowadays, always a great idea to lock your doors. Especially if you’re gonna take a nap. You just can’t trust anyone, anymore, anyplace. Be smart. Be a part of “Crime Prevention”.
Hearts bleed. Duh! The only way to protect the community from repeat and violent offenders is to lock them up. For a long time, Much longer than 2 years less a day. Many jurists, if not this judge, understand that race-based sentencing doesn’t serve the community that these criminals return to. This judge and his family can sleep at night knowing they are not likely at risk from these people.
This cycle will continue until finally these criminals are put away for long periods of time. Putting him in the “Iqaluit Healing Center” just teaches them how to be better criminals while they stay there and get high and drunk in the winter and play baseball in the summer. Nothing will ever change in Nunavut until these criminals are made to pay for their actions. So sad for this women who will not feel safe in her own home probably for the rest of her life, all because of a career criminal who keeps getting a slap on the hand and told not to do it again.
Nice to see a judge doing their job.
Eliminate the “Gladue principal”.
“A bad child hood is no excuse for today’s bad behaviour…”
-NWT judge.
Time to stop using the Gladue principal excuse and hand out real sentences.