by Ian Elliot
Northern News Services

NNSL (Oct 15/97) - A Wha Ti man who viciously beat an 80-year-old man is offering no explanation for his actions.

Yesterday, territorial court Judge Michel Bourassa sentenced James Steven Simpson, 18, to two years less a day for punching the elderly man in front of the Gold Range on Thursday and kicking the man until his hip broke.

The victim, a Dettah resident, remains at Stanton Regional Hospital recovering from injuries. He is expected to be released later this week.

Calling the unprovoked attack "almost beyond understanding," Bourassa said the beating had struck a nerve in the community.

"The reaction in Yellowknife to this gratuitous violence ... has been one of anger and a desire to do something about it."

Bourassa added there were too many unprovoked assaults in the city and hoped the sentence would serve as a deterrent.

"There has to be some assurance given to the public that the courts will not tolerate violence. People have to feel that they are safe on the streets of Yellowknife."

Simpson did not offer a defence. His lawyer told the court Simpson had been drinking earlier in the day and did not remember the attack.

The manager of the Wha Ti Co-op, the chief of Wha Ti and Simpson's mother all made pleas to the court to be lenient in sentencing.

Simpson did not speak in his own defence, but his eyes filled with tears after the verdict was read.