Veteran Nunavik police constable faces assault charge

Timothy Sangoya set to appear in court next on Sept. 16

The KRPF’s headquarters in Kuujjuaq are shown here. One of the force’s former constables has been charged with sexual assault. (File photo)

By Sarah Rogers

Long-time KRPF constable Timothy Sangoya faces a single charge of sexual assault stemming from a May 2019 incident. (File photo)

A veteran Nunavik police officer has been charged with sexual assault.

Timothy Sangoya faces a single charge of sexual assault following an incident that took place in May, says Quebec’s Crown prosecution office. Information about the alleged victim is protected by a publication ban.

The 64-year-old appeared in court in Kuujjuaq on June 17.

Sangoya began working as a special constable for the Kativik Regional Police Force in 1998, just two years after the force was created.

He spent much of his career policing in Tasiujaq and some time working as a counsellor for Nunavik’s Nunalituqait Ikajuqatigiitut wellness group.

Sangoya moved to the position of regular constable with the KRPF in 2015.

The following year, in 2016, Sangoya was honoured for his many years of service as a police constable at the Quebec Aboriginal Chiefs of Police annual meeting, where the KRPF called him an inspiration and role model.

It’s unclear if and when Sangoya would have left the force; he was not listed as an KPRF employee at the time of the alleged assault.

The KRPF would not comment on the allegations, which have yet to be proven in court.

Quebec newspaper Le Journal de Montréal first reported on the allegations against Sangoya, which it discovered through an access to information request to Quebec’s independent investigative agency.

Since 2016, Quebec’s Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) has been mandated to investigate incidents in which civilians are injured or killed during police interventions.

But as part of its mandate, the BEI also investigates allegations against police officers that are criminally sexual in nature in cases where the victim or complainant is Indigenous. The details of those investigations are not made public, however.

Sangoya is scheduled to be back in court on Sept. 16.

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