Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Jun 16/00) - A Inuvik man has been charged and held without bail in the sexual assault and beating of a 60-year-old disabled woman.

Kenneth Peter MacWatt, 32, appeared in Inuvik court Monday, Tuesday and again Wednesday morning for a show cause hearing. He faces one count of aggravated sexual assault.

Cpl. Brian Pinder of the Inuvik RCMP told the court police were called to an Inuvik apartment building June 10 at 1:20 a.m. by a relative of the victim.

The relative told police that when he was leaving his apartment, he discovered his aunt in the hallway, naked from the waist down, with blood on her lower extremities.

Pinder explained to the court that through sign language, the victim explained the sexual assault and beating to police, before being rushed to hospital. She was examined and doctors confirmed to police that the victim had been sexually assaulted. The victim had also suffered a broken wrist, a blackened right eye and required surgery to repair a two-inch vaginal tear. The victim had also lost 40 per cent of her blood.

When police arrived at the scene, the suspect had fled, but soon located the man at a residence on Inuit Street.

"We received two anonymous calls directing us to the suspect's residence," Pinder said. "I'm suspecting (the callers) had scanners, because they could hear on radio traffic, the description and that's what led us to the particular residence."

During the hearing, Pinder submitted a three-page previous record to justice of the peace Thomas Kirby, citing 36 previous convictions, including two for sexual assault.

In reviewing the previous record, Kirby noted that MacWatt had been convicted in Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, Inuvik, Yellowknife and Edmonton.

"This is a crime of a seriousness I don't often see in J.P. court," Kirby told the accused before denying bail.

MacWatt faces a maximum of life imprisonment for the charge and will next appear in Inuvik court June 26 at 2:30 p.m.

The victim remains in hospital in stable condition and is expected to recover from the injuries.