Time no longer on his side

Daniel Komoartok, 26, received a conditional sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of assault in Iqaluit on April 19 — one assault going back to September 1999.

The first assault charge surfaced on Sept. 4, 2001, when the RCMP received a call about a male causing a disturbance at the city’s White Row housing complex. When the officers arrived, Komoartok, a jewelry maker, was leaving the house with his infant child and a baby bag. His common law spouse, visibly distressed, wanted the child back.

Komoartok handed the infant over after police exercised “a necessary level of force” the court heard. A police interview with Komoartok’s spouse resulted in the police laying two assault charges: one dating back 10 days, the other going as far back as Sept. 1, 1999. During one of the attacks, Komoartok threw the woman to the ground, kneened her in the neck and then twisted her neck.

The woman and the child now live in Clyde River.

Judge Beverly Browne handed down her sentence and encouraged Komoartok to make better choices in difficult situations.

“You have lots of good things going for you. You need to learn to deal with the things not going so well,” she said.

The first four months of Komoartok’s sentence will be served under house arrest.