Rankin Inlet man convicted of sexually assaulting woman who couldn't consent
A man in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, is awaiting sentencing after a jury in the community found him guilty of sexual assault.
Lee Jordan Nauya is convicted of sexual assault, after allegedly having sex with a woman who was intoxicated and therefore incapable of consenting. The woman's name is protected by a publication ban.
The verdict came from the jury in Rankin Inlet on May 30. On July 16, Justice Earl Johnson released the facts that will form the basis of sentencing, based on submissions from Crown and defence lawyers.
The Crown attorney, Sarah Arngna'qaaq, said the assault happened in September 2014. The woman was found on the side of the road in a hypothermic state, because of the cold and her inadequate clothes.
According to the court documents, the woman testified that on the night of the assault Nauya and another man met her behind the Northern Store and showed her a bottle of alcohol before heading toward the local nickel mine.
She said she was pressured and then forced to drink by Nauya, who allegedly poured liquor down her throat while the other man held her hands behind her back. She told the court she refused to drink, saying she had been sober for six months.
According to the judgment, the woman ended up in a blackout state in a Winnipeg hospital.
The Crown lawyer alleged the assault included additional aggravating factors, telling the court the accused had the intent to get the victim drunk enough to take advantage of her while she was unconscious.
Aggravating factors accepted by a judge determine the severity of a sentence.
Defence lawyers disputed those claims, saying there was not sufficient evidence to conclude that the victim was unconscious. Arngna'qaaq conceded she could not prove the woman was unconscious.
The defence also claimed there was a long time between the time the woman was forced to drink and when she blacked out.
"There was a lot of drinking, laughing, and having a good time in between ... This evidence fatally undermines the conclusion that she was forced to drink," it says in the defence submissions in the decision.
Judge Johnson wrote he did not think the crime was premeditated, even though he believed Nauya forced the victim to drink. He also wrote that what Nauya did after the assault, leaving the woman by the side of the road, won't be considered during the sentencing.
Johnson is expected to deliver his sentence in Iqaluit on Aug. 20.
