SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A young father wept as he held his two-year-old daughter moments after being sentenced to 27 months in prison in Supreme Court Jan. 28.

He was convicted of sexually assaulting a Yellowknife woman in 2008.

Justice John Vertes originally sentenced Shawn Jason Kodzin, 25, to 30 months in prison, but gave him credit for time served since his Oct. 25, 2010 trial, where Vertes found him guilty of the offence. Vertes said that on April 20, 2008, the victim and her common-law husband had been drinking alcohol throughout the evening. Kodzin went to the victim's residence at around 4 a.m. and continued drinking with the couple until they went to bed around 8 a.m. The victim's cousin tried to get Kodzin to leave the residence, but he said he wanted to say goodbye to the couple, and then said he needed to use the bathroom.

About 15 minutes later, the cousin became suspicious and went upstairs. He found Kodzin on top of the woman, having sex with her while she was naked and unconscious. The cousin yelled at Kozdin, who jumped off the woman and fled the residence, leaving behind his pants, underwear and his wallet containing his identification. Her common-law husband remained passed out during the assault. During the trial, Kodzin claimed he was intoxicated and didn't remember being in the victim's home, said Vertes.

Crown prosecutor Blair MacPherson requested a sentence in the range of three to four years in prison for an incident he described as a "major sexual assault" and "one of the most serious (offences) in the Criminal Code."

Kodzin's lawyer Peter Fuglsang told the court this incident was out of character for his client - a high school graduate with a good upbringing who has had steady employment in the mines for four years and now has a family of his own.

"Some people have nothing to lose, Mr. Kodzin has everything to lose," said Fuglsang, who requested a conditional sentence for his client, although he admitted such light punishment would be a "stretch." Otherwise, Fuglsang said a sentence on the "lower end" of less than two years would be appropriate.

Kodzin apologized to the victim and her family for the "pain, shame and embarrassment" he caused. He also told the court he made a mistake and has grown from the experience. He then asked Vertes to be spared from prison and for a "second chance at life."

Vertes also allowed family members to speak to the court, including the offender's mother and father. They all conveyed the same message - that their son was young man with strong character who made a mistake because of alcohol. They pleaded with Vertes to let Kodzin come home and serve his sentence in his home community of Wekweeti.

After adjourning the matter for 30 minutes, Vertes returned to shatter the family's hopes when he told them he could not, under the law, impose a conditional sentence or house arrest.

"He will be going to prison for this crime," said Vertes.

He said that extreme intoxication was not an excuse for the crime of sexual assault, which is "prevalent" and "so frequent" in the North. After he read the sentence, Vertes told the young father to think about his family and the "very long and valuable future" he has in front of him.

Kodzin was also banned from owning firearms for 10 years, ordered to provide a DNA sample to the police and will be added to the National Sex Offender Registry for 20 years.

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