A Tuktoyaktuk repeat sexual offender, who pleaded guilty to entering a home and sexually assaulting children, has been sentenced to one year of jail time that he has already served, and three years probation.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Gilbert Katigakyok, 25, who suffers from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), snuck into a house in the community in March of 2018.
He then entered a bedroom where four pre-teen girls were sleeping, and sexually assaulted two of them.
He left the bedroom when one of the girls said she was going to get the homeowner and father of two of the girls.
Both sexual assaults involved touching outside of the girls’ clothing, court heard.
Under his sentence, Katigakyok is to abstain from the consumption of illicit drugs, alcohol or any other intoxicating substance.
He is also subject to drug testing and must remain inside his home from 10:00 pm and until 8:00 am unless he has permission from his probation officer to be away.
Katigakyok was sentenced in Yellowknife Wednesday by Judge Donovon Molloy who also ordered him to attend “any and all counselling and treatments directed by the probation officer, including risk reduction programs for sex offenders and programs tailored to Katigakyok’s identified cognitive deficits.”
He is also to report back to court within 60 days and thereafter as directed to monitor the progress of the counselling and/or treatment.
Katigakyok is also ordered to have no contact with his victims and not be within five metres of their residence.
The case received some extra attention earlier this summer when the court subpoenaed the warden of the North Slave Correctional Complex (NSCC) John Nahanni to tell the judge exactly what the warden could do to find a treatment bed somewhere in Canada for Katigakyok.
Nahanni appeared in court earlier this summer but did not testify in person.
He instead provided information through an affidavit.
Molloy said he did not feel comfortable releasing Katigakyok back into the community without some assurances that he was going to get help, including treatment and counselling.
A lack of services in NWT corrections facilities for people with FASD has long been a thorn in the side of Katigakyok‘s Yellowknife lawyer Peter Harte.
The judge essentially agreed with Harte that Katigakyok should go out of the territory for help. .
“Mr. Katigakyok should be referred to an Adult Out of Territory Supportive Living/Treatment Program. Some of these programs have contingencies such as psychiatric referrals. When accused persons are in custody having them assessed by psychiatrists is a challenge in the Northwest Territories, Molloy stated. “It is doubtful whether Mr. Katigakyok could be psychiatrically assessed while living in Tuktoyaktuk.”
It is believed by many court observers that a large percentage of offenders in the NWT suffer from FASD, a condition that is often difficult to diagnose.
CKLB met up with a smiling Katigakyok not long after he was released and he confirmed he is indeed heading back to Tuktoyaktuk for now.
