Crown will not go to jury a third time
Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 22/00) - The man who accused an Inuvik teacher of sexual abuse agrees with a decision to not take the case to trial a third time.
Crown prosecutor Cliff Purvis said he and the complainant decided together to not to seek a third trial after the two previous hearings ended in hung juries. But the case can be reactivated if new evidence is found.
"After being in contact with the (alleged) victim it was decided we wouldn't proceed with another trial," Purvis said.
"If any new information came forward we would look at that."
The complainant said he wants to get on with his life.
"In retrospect I recognize there was a mixture of negative and positive experiences in my life as a teenager in Inuvik," he said in a letter that he faxed to Yellowknifer.
"My experiences in the judicial system have been traumatic enough," he added. "I wish to shed the anguish of my youth and get on with the realities of life today and the potential for a great future."
Dave Button was charged with indecent assault and gross indecency for incidents alleged to have occured while he was a guidance counsellor at Samuel Hearne High School in Inuvik in the 1970s.
A 1999 preliminary hearing determined there was enough evidence to proceed, and the case went to trial in May.
The jury could not reach a verdict and the proceeding ended in a mistrial.
The case went before a new jury earlier this month, but after hearing testimony from Button and the single complainant, jurors were once again "deadlocked with no hope of change."
Purvis announced the decision to not proceed to a third trial Tuesday.
Button still lives in Inuvik.
The complainant left the North many years ago and said he is now leaving his future in the hands of God.
"Yes, I wanted to achieve a measure of revenge," he said. "I now realize that getting even is not getting ahead."
