Man convicted of sexually assaulting child mounts constitutional challenge
Sentencing ‘paused’ pending further court hearings
A Pangnirtung man’s sentencing for a sexual assault conviction has been put on hold so that he can mount a constitutional challenge on the mandatory minimum sentences for his crimes. (File photo by Jeff Pelletier)
The sentencing of a Pangnirtung man found guilty of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl has been paused so that he can mount a constitutional challenge to the mandatory minimum sentences for his convictions.
Mark Mosesee was found guilty March 14 on charges of sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual solicitation of a person under the age of 18, in relation to an incident that happened Oct. 21, 2023.
He was charged Nov. 1, 2023, said RCMP spokesperson Cpl. George Henrie in an email to Nunatsiaq News.
The victim’s identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban.
At a hearing for Mosesee in Iqaluit on Tuesday, Chief Justice Susan Cooper said that if the sentence had not been challenged, Mosesee would have been handed the mandatory minimum of one year in custody for the first two charges and six months for the third, to be served concurrently.
Defence plans to argue the mandatory minimum sentences in this case contravene Section 12 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which deals with cruel and unusual punishment.
Mosesee’s lawyer Sharon Sabourin will ask Cooper to consider whether Mosesee’s sentence would hypothetically be considered a breach of the Charter.
“The challenge corresponds with similar challenges in other provinces and territories that asks the court to strike down the mandatory minimum punishments set out in the criminal code,” Sabourin said in an email.
“If she accedes to the request [it] would be binding on other courts below in the territory of Nunavut,” she said.
Mosesee has 395 days’ credit for time served in pre-trial custody and would have been released with a probation order after his sentencing. This means the Charter challenge will have no effect on the sentence Mosesee serves.
“He was released pending the sentencing as he is likely in a time-served position,” Crown lawyer Jessika Withers said in an email to Nunatsiaq News. “This will ultimately be the judge’s decision but he is currently out on release.”
Mosesee is under an order to reside at his mother’s home in Pangnirtung.
He is prohibited from contacting the victim and coming into contact with anyone under the age of 16 without another sober adult present.
Cooper’s written decision, released Monday by the Nunavut Court of Justice, says that during Mosesee’s March 7 trial, the victim testified that she was playing with two other children at their home on the day of the assault.
They were in a bedroom watching TV at around 11:30 p.m. when they fell asleep. The door to the bedroom was locked by one of the children prior to them falling asleep.
“The complainant told police that during the night, the accused dragged her by her legs out of the bedroom and across the hall, into his room. He said to her that he wanted to ‘touch her’ for $40 and showed her a $20 bill,” Cooper said in her decision.
The girl managed to escape and sneaked out of the home with one of the other children.
In a videotaped statement to police a few days after the incident, the girl said Mosesee wanted to touch her “private parts,” said Cooper in her decision.
“He wanted to touch me for $40 but I didn’t, I said no,” the girl testified.
The defence argued that while there was an assault, the evidence didn’t clearly show that it was sexual in nature, the decision read.
Cooper rejected the defence’s suggestion that the request to “touch” the girl could have been for an innocent purpose.
“The words uttered, accompanied by the physical dragging of the complainant into a separate bedroom where the two of them were alone, leads me to the conclusion that the only reasonable inference is that the accused intended to have sexual contact with the complainant,” Cooper wrote.
Mosesee’s next court date is to be determined.
That’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for him.
While the minor is a victim for life, the adult received much to light a sentence. T
Another justice system joke again.
This ‘man’ only serves a couple years and his defense lawyers are crying that its cruel and unusual punishment. He clearly inflicted cruel and deviant pain on a child!
Mandatory sentences for crimes against children need to be more than a lashing with a wet noodle.
Well, election time is coming. And no Liberal/NDP/Green party is going to toughen up any law. So it is up to you, the voter, now.
The previous Conservative government talked a big game on getting tough with minimum sentences and then every change they promised to the rubes was tossed out by the Supreme Court. But I’m sure the guy who was in cabinet of that same government will deliver THIS time, right??
A very soft sentence, regardless. Judges need to start taking sexual assaults on children seriously.
Not sure your comment is totally fair. Judges are only interpreting the law provided to them along with precedence, Kick in the Supreme Court and we end up with what we get. We have the appeals process to help us if we don’t agree with their decisions as well. I am hard-nosed when it comes to sentencing decisions as well and sometimes shake my head, but I understand we need to have the law changed and toughened up. That will not happen with a Liberal or NDP-led government.
Can you stop? This is so disgusting! Nowhere in the conservative platform (or any other party) are they talking about alleviating this issue. Stop using victim stories to further your political desires. Go vote how you want and stop spreading blatant lies. Have we learned nothing from the partisanship taking place down south? SMH
Not to play the devil’s advocate, but Pierre poliwhatever said in plain language on national TV that his party is planning on fixing this exact kind of issue – however I don’t support or believe in the things he says buuut he has said something about this issue
Pierre Poilievre was a cabinet minister in the Harper Government *TM that got elected after they promised tougher minimum sentences, and promptly had all of their promised tough measures tossed out by the Supreme Court. But I’m sure he will get it right THIS time, right?
What about the child’s rights? How on earth does a pedo have more rights than a defenceless child?!? Wouldn’t this be a factor given the fact a grown man with more physical and mental power over her take into account? The power dynamics and wow this is so wrong.
He had time to think and stop, he took the time to drag her, that is scary for a grown up to experience let along a 11 YEAR OLD LITTLE GIRL. Enough. Crimes like this needs more strict punishment because it’ll continue and if the courts show apathy then how do think it’ll be at the community level? Show that crimes against children WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
PTSD is a life sentence. Shouldn’t the same apply to criminally convicted?
Unspoken out of shame is Nunavut has a horrendous record to Child Sexual Abuse and all forms of Sexual Abuse. The Territorial Shame. Unspoken as hope it isn’t out in the open for iht of Territory awareness as keep it hush as it’s too sensitive and shameful.
When you’re a victim and live with it, it destroys all foundations and hopes knowing the root causes of social dysfunction and multiply that by 50% and peg them all into cramped and overcrowded homes and we all wonder why we hurt each other.
Sexual Abuse Crimes should not be eased. Nunavut leniency in Courts is shameful kangaroo court. If you want Sexual Abuse to stop it means you hand punishment for crimes that you are tried for, and it’s not up to the Courts to play Counselling and hope bridging help the Accused is fair Justice and get more support than the actual crimes is a f*cken joke. NU Court is passive and has no teeth. Grow some balls Nunavut
Do the Time for Crime and keep the Accused in Population with no special concerns as the Victims had no special concerns protection. NU Courts are a spineless system. Do crime in Nunavut, it’s easy and you get less time and if you’re good you can even leave early… That is Justice in Nunavut
Only in Nunavut are these light sentences handed out. now we have someone using government funded legal aid to mount legal challenges to mandatory minimum legislation. It’s still the minimum….
Getting really tired of these lawyers coming to Nunavut to boost their careers at the expense of the victims of these crimes…