Bruno Simpson sentenced to three years for sexual assault
Bruno Simpson, an N.W.T. man who broke into a home and sexually assaulted a teenager, was sentenced to three years in prison yesterday in Northwest Territories Supreme Court.
Simpson, an aboriginal man from a community in the Tlicho region, pleaded guilty to the charge of break and enter with the intent to commit sexual assault in relation to a December 2014 incident. At the time, Simpson was on probation for sexually assaulting a then 13-year-old girl.
In her victim impact statement for the sexual assault, the 13-year-old said the attack had left her with nightmares about someone being in a dark room while she was asleep. In December, the girl awoke to find Simpson, then 19, in her bedroom.
When she asked Simpson to leave, he asked "why?" then sat on her bed and tried to get on top of her.
The girl screamed, alerting her mother, who found Simpson hiding in the bedroom closet. He ran away, but was later arrested.
At Simpson's sentencing, the judge heard that he had suffered physical abuse at the hands of his father, who was an alcoholic. He was also sexually abused.
Justice Karen Shaner said that "somewhat" reduces Simpson's moral blame for the crime, but does not excuse it.
Simpson has been in jail since being arrested. With credit for that time, he has just over two years left on his sentence.
