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One day in jail for groping stranger Victim feels 'more fearful and unsafe as a woman in Yellowknife'Katherine Hudson Northern News Services Published Friday, March 08, 2013 The woman said in a victim impact statement that she feels "more fearful and unsafe as a woman in Yellowknife" since the incident.
In an agreed statement of facts read on Feb. 27, Crown prosecutor Kelly Onyskevitch told the court that on July 15, 2012, a little bit after 2 a.m., a group of people, including the victim, left the Raven Pub. The woman was walking ahead of the group, which included her boyfriend, on 52 Street when Sandy Wedawin - a complete stranger - grabbed her buttocks and said, "I want you. I've wanted you all night."
The victim's boyfriend quickly confronted the accused, after which Wedawin walked away. The boyfriend called the RCMP and provided a description. RCMP officers located the man, who was intoxicated and slurring his speech.
Wedawin remembers nothing of the night, said Onyskevitch, adding the accused has a criminal record, including a prior conviction of assault.
He said although the sexual assault is at the "lower end," in severity, what is concerning is that it was done when the victim was separated from her group. This has decreased the woman's sense of safety in the city. Onyskevitch said the Crown was looking for a conditional sentence of one or two months followed by six months of probation.
In a victim impact statement, the victim said she now takes taxis or has a man escort her anywhere at night. She said a stranger had touched her body without her consent and that touching a woman like that is wrong.
Defence counsel Jay Bran said Wedawin is employed, is in a relationship and was remorseful right from the outset when he was told what occurred.
"This is a night if he could, he would take it back ... This is out of character for him," said Bran, who asked Judge Bernadette Schmaltz that the accused serve a day in jail and 12 months of probation.
Schmaltz sentenced Wedawin to the one day - served by his appearance in court. He also received 18 months probation with 180 hours of community service work. He must not contact the victim and cannot drink alcohol.
There were 179 sexual assaults reported in the NWT in 2011, according to Statistics Canada. In Canada, police reported a little over 21,800 sexual assaults, 98 per cent of which were classified as level one, or the least serious of the three categories of the offence.
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