Quaqtaq man declared long-term offender

During last week’s court session in Kuujjuaq, judge Daniel Bédard declared Lucassie Kokkinerk, 33, a long-term offender.

Kokkinerk is the first person on the Ungava Bay coast to be declared a long-term offender.

Bédard sentenced Kokkinerk to 26 months in jail for sexual assault with penetration on a minor.

Kokkinerk has spent five months in preventative custody since his arrest. The court counts this time as 10 months, so his total jail sentence amounts to three years.

This was the sixth time Kokkinerk had been before the court since he turned 18. As a long-term offender, he can look forward to a prolonged period of surveillance by authorities after his release from penitentiary.

“If they don’t think he’s ready to go to his community, they will send him for therapy,” said Crown Prosecutor Marie-Chantale Brassard.