Lawyers suggest 6 years for ex-priest who abused Nunavut children

WARNING: This communicative contains disturbing content.

A erstwhile Catholic clergyman took vantage of an already susceptible assemblage erstwhile helium inflicted horrific intersexual maltreatment connected respective Inuit children decades ago, a Crown authoritative told a sentencing proceeding Friday.

An Iqaluit courtroom heard graphic details this week of Eric Dejaeger’s assaults connected six girls and 1 lad betwixt 1978 and 1982 successful the hamlet of Igloolik, Nvt.

Dejaeger was antecedently convicted of dozens much offences against children and adults successful Nunavut and Alberta.

The 77-year-old pleaded blameworthy Thursday to 7 counts of indecent assault. On Friday, authoritative Emma Baasch and defence lawyer Scott Cowan jointly recommended a situation condemnation of six years.

Courts person agelong decried the epidemic of intersexual maltreatment against women and children successful Nunavut, Baasch said successful her sentencing argument.

“Socio-economic factors and the interaction of colonialism not lone contributed and lend to this epidemic but provided the cleanable script for Eric Dejaeger to inflict years of maltreatment connected the assemblage of Igloolik,” she said.

“Forced relocation, the RCMP canine slaughter, overcrowded housing, nutrient insecurity (and) attempts to eradicate Inuit civilization are the precise factors that Eric Dejaeger exploited to summation entree to his victims and unafraid their secrecy for decades.”

Baasch told Justice Faiyaz Alibhai that Dejaeger’s blameworthy plea should beryllium considered a important mitigating origin successful sentencing, arsenic it spared victims from having to testify.

But she said that indispensable beryllium weighed against galore aggravating factors, including the young property of the victims, the information that Dejaeger was successful a presumption of spot and the lasting harm from his crimes.

“Ultimately, nary condemnation tin erase the harm,” she said. “Hopefully, the victims tin present summation immoderate consciousness of closure.”

Indecent battle is nary longer listed arsenic an offence nether the Criminal Code but was erstwhile the maltreatment took place.

“Shame connected our predecessors successful Parliament, but the maximum condemnation for immoderate of these offences was 5 years,” Cowan said of the decades-old legislation.

He said the instrumentality erstwhile it existed — combined with modern-day sentencing principles — makes a six-year word “an perfectly quadrate 1 with justice.”

Considering the clip Dejaeger has already served connected different enactment transgression convictions, “what helium is getting is efficaciously a 30-year sentence,” Cowan said.

“Let nary 1 accidental that Mr. Dejaeger was ever treated leniently.”

In a video provender of the tribunal proceedings, a grey-bearded Dejaeger could beryllium seen sitting with his arms crossed astatine the defence table. He wore a bluish sweatshirt.

Victim interaction statements delivered Thursday by the 5 surviving complainants described however the assaults led to addiction, intelligence wellness struggles, mediocre self-esteem and mistrust.

Trending Now

The youngest unfortunate successful this lawsuit was 4 erstwhile the maltreatment started, and others were betwixt six and nine.

Court heard immoderate victims person refused to acceptable ft successful a Catholic religion arsenic a effect of the maltreatment and that the long-running assaults person harmed the tight-knit assemblage arsenic a whole.

Dejaeger was antecedently convicted of committing galore intersexual offences portion moving arsenic an Oblate missionary. He served portion of a five-year sentence, opening successful 1990, for intersexual crimes against children successful Baker Lake, Nvt., committed betwixt 1982 and 1989.

In 2015, helium was sentenced to 19 years successful situation for 32 crimes against Inuit children and immoderate adults betwixt 1978 and 1982 successful Igloolik. The offences included indecent assault, unlawful confinement and bestiality.

Later that year, helium was sentenced for humanities intersexual offences against children successful Alberta, to beryllium served concurrently with his condemnation for the earlier Igloolik charges. He was fixed statutory merchandise connected May 19, 2022, aft serving two-thirds of his sentence.

Alibhai is to manus down his condemnation for the latest offences adjacent Thursday.

The justice thanked victims for telling their stories.

“It is important not conscionable for victims, but for each of america who unrecorded successful Nunavut, that the information is told and things that are hidden and kept successful the acheronian beryllium brought into the light.”