Judge pokes at Nunavut’s black eye

Peter Salomonie, 32, was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm.

The incident occurred after a night of drinking on Aug. 17, 2002. The complainant, Salomonie’s common-law spouse for nine years, received a bloody 5-centimetre gash to her head, and bruising to her shoulder.

Salomonie admitted to hitting the woman several times, but said the head wound was an accident.

“I grabbed her and pulled her and she fell and hit the dresser,” he said.

Defence lawyer Greg Nearing said the assault was a “watershed” moment for Salomonie, and made Salomonie re-evaluate his life.

Justice Earl Johnson said he hoped the sentence would deter other people from committing domestic assaults.

“The public needs to get the message that spousal assault is a huge problem in Nunavut,” Johnson said.

Salomonie has at least four previous assault convictions against the same woman in the last two years, the Crown said.

After he gets out of jail, Salomonie will be prevented from owning firearms for 10-years, and will have a sample of his DNA taken and kept at a national data bank.