Sex charges against counselor anger women in Kugluktuk

Women in Kugluktuk are outraged that a mental health worker employed by the Government of Nunavut is still living in their midst after being charged with two counts of sexual assault.

Darrel Francis Tessier, 50, was charged following booze-fueled incidents in the early morning hours of July 23 at a residence in Kugluktuk.

“The women that associated with him are scared. I don’t want to live in fear, but as long as he is in the community, I will be scared,” a woman in Kugluktuk told Nunatsiaq News. The woman does not want to be identified, for fear of retribution.

The complainants are two adult women employed by the government.

Tessier, a former Ottawa resident, started his job at Kugluktuk’s health centre in August of 2004. A devout Roman Catholic, Tessier organized a Christian meditation group in Kugluktuk in November of 2004.

Tessier is divorced, with six children and one grandson, and lived alone in Kugluktuk.

“He was a respected and trusted person in the community and it has shocked everyone. I am personally outraged, as are many others who had considered him a friend and confidant,” the woman said.

The woman said that, until this week, everyone who knew Tessier completely trusted him as a father, friend and church-goer.

But because Tessier worked with the most vulnerable people in the community, the woman wonders if there might be other potential complainants.

“Could there be others? We only know what he has said about himself,” the woman asked.

But some people in Kugluktuk believe that Tessier should either leave the community or be held in custody until his trial.

“Shock has passed to anger and outrage. Perhaps he should be moved to the healing centre for his own safety and the safety of others,” the woman said.

Tessier is listed as a certified member of the Canadian Counselor’s Association in the organization’s online directory.

The associations says that “certified” counselors are people whose professional credentials have been evaluated and who have “committed themselves to adhere to the CCA Code of Ethics…” and who “are accountable for the maintenance of high standards of professional service.”

In an article published in the Spring, 2005 issue of a newsletter called “Christian Meditation in Canada,” Tessier described his first day in Kugluktuk and says that God led him to live there.

“I met the team of nurses, social workers and outreach workers. I met my first clients who were (surprisingly to me) very receptive, and opened up their hearts and shared their life stories. At noon, on my way home for lunch, tears filled my eyes. I was so happy to be here. God made no mistake,” Tessier wrote.

The two complainants in Tessier’s case are now “recovering” and trying to get on with their lives, though one has persistent nightmares, a source in Kugluktuk said.

Tessier is to appear before the Nunavut Court of Justice Aug. 15.

The GN has suspended him with pay from his job, and another mental health worker has been sent in to replace him, a source said.

Tessier is the second GN employee in Kugluktuk with a sensitive job to end up facing serious criminal charges in recent weeks.

Helen Larocque, 48, director of the much-ballyhooed Illuvut correctional healing centre in Kugluktuk, faces charges of aggravated assault and unlawfully being in a dwelling place after her sister-in-law ended up at Stanton Yellowknife hospital suffering from a severe beating. Laroque’s sister, Rita Pigalak, also faces charges in connection with the incident.