Nunavik cop pleads guilty to sexually assaulting minor

KUUJJUAQ — Charlie Keelan, 24, a policeman with the Kativik Regional Police Force, has plead guilty to sexual assault of a minor under 14 before a Quebec court judge in Kahnawake, a Mohawk community near Montreal.

Keelan was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine at the April 12 appearance. The judgment gives him a criminal record.

The charge against Keelan was in connection with an incident that occurred in Feb. 1999 in Kuujjuaq.

Keelan, who was stationed with the KRPF in Quaqtaq, has been suspended from the police force without pay since Jan. 2000.

Judge Daniel Bédard, who generally presides over court in the Ungava region, had requested that Keelan’s case be transferred to another district.

A judge in Quebec may ask for a case’s transfer if it presents any potential conflicts-of-interest or if there are other reasons it would be better heard in another district.

Judge Bédard made this request because Keelan may remain on the Kativik force. If so, Keelan could someday face Bédard again in court, but as a witness for the Crown in some other case.

According to Crown prosecutor Monique Perron, cases involving police are always ‘very delicate.’ That’s because Quebec cops don’t face automatic dismissal when they’re convicted of a criminal offense.

Perron said this law is currently under review and is likely to be amended in the near future.

Keelan is still on leave without pay from the KRPF. There’s no final decision yet about his future with the force.

The executive of the Kativik Regional Government’s council have been asked to give an opinion on whether to reintegrate Keelan into the force at its next meeting.