Seven year conviction in Iqaluit sexual assault
An Apex man has been sentenced to seven years in prison after breaking into a woman's apartment in Iqaluit and sexually assaulting her while she slept.
The 45-year-old victim had testified that when she awoke to find Timothy Aipeelee -- a complete stranger to her -- touching her underneath her pajamas and panties in the early morning hours of Sept. 9, 2020, she tackled and pummelled him in a beating that left the accused with a broken collar bone and scratches to his face. She kept Aipeelee subdued for 20 minutes waiting for the police to arrive.
Her son-in-law also joined in on the beating but the victim testified she was responsible for breaking the offender's collar bone.
Aipeelee testified that he was aiming to visit his nephew the night he sexually assaulted the complainant and went to the victim's apartment, thinking his cousin also lived there and might want to join him. The victim stated she didn't know Aipeelee nor his cousin.
Despite initially electing to be tried by jury, Aipeelee’s case was eventually heard by presiding Justice P. Bychok at the Nunavut Court of Justice on Jan. 9.
Bychok noted in his ruling that in order to deter similar future crimes against Indigenous victims, as “Mr. Aipeelee’s victim was an Inuit woman living in our isolated community,” he would be giving primary emphasis to denunciation and deterrence in his sentencing. He noted Aipeelee has a lengthy criminal history dating back to his youth. His age was not provided in the ruling but it notes that Aipeelee was taught by notorious sex offender Ed Horne in Kinngait. The offender dropped out of school at age 14.
The defendant’s record goes back to youth court in 1985. It contains 14 prior convictions for break and enters, 32 prior convictions for crimes of violence, including one sexual assault; one aggravated assault; 15 convictions for assault; three convictions for assault causing bodily harm; and 12 convictions for assault with a weapon. Aipeelee has also accumulated 21 convictions for breaching court imposed bail and probation orders, including a conditional sentence breach.
“This court does not possess a crystal ball,” wrote Justice Bychok in his sentencing ruling released last week. “However, Mr. Aipeelee has a proven track record of violating court orders. Coupled with a lack of evidence that he has benefitted from intensive counselling, he remains, in my view, a continuing danger to the community. The sentence I impose must, therefore, emphasize denunciation and specific deterrence in a meaningful and realistic way.
“The sentence I impose on Mr. Aipeelee must reflect the reality that sexual violence against Inuit girls and women in Nunavut is indeed “a problem of massive proportions.” Court dockets in every one of our 25 communities are dominated with cases of sexual and physical violence against Inuit women and girls.”
The incident in question
Aipeelee stated that he was looking for his cousin because he wanted taxi money to go to Apex. He claimed he was only trying pick the complainant’s pockets when he entered her apartment through an unlocked door and then her bedroom.
Justice Bychok stated in his ruling that he was “satisfied that Mr. Aipeelee knew what he was doing that evening and early morning.” He did not accept Aipeelee’s assertion that he had previously met the victim in the residence, where she had been living for 14 years.
“In summary, I do not believe Mr. Aipeelee’s version of events, nor does his evidence raise a reasonable doubt in my mind. I now consider the rest of the evidence to see if the Crown has proven its case against Mr. Aipeelee beyond a reasonable doubt."
Aipeelee has already spent 792 days in pre-trial custody, meaning he still has a little more than four yearsc left on his sentence, which will be served in a penitentiary.
The offender must also submit to a DNA order and must remain on a sexual offence registry for life. He is also forbidden from possessing firearms for life or contacting the victim.
Kira Wronska Dorward, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News
