Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Apr 12/99) - A 55-year-old convicted sex offender appeared in Nunavut's Court of Justice last Thursday afternoon to answer to a total of 34 new sex-related charges.

Edward Horne was arrested at the Toronto International Airport on March 30, after returning to Canada after residing four years in Mexico City.

Horne, who had taught extensively in various Nunavut communities, including Apex, Iqaluit, Grise Fiord and Sanikiluaq, had been the subject of a country-wide search for a number of years before Ontario and Nunavut RCMP nabbed him at the airport.

Iqaluit's Sgt. Lindsey Brine said the arrest was a very successful conclusion to their search and was made possible when the police received a tip concerning Horne.

Previously convicted of other sex crimes in the mid- 1980's and forced to serve a federal term of incarceration, Horne left the country upon his release from prison, but was then wanted in connection with 10 new charges of sexual assault dating back to the time he worked in Nunavut as a teacher in the 1970s and 1980s.

In addition to the 10 charges on the outstanding warrant for his arrest, Horne has recently been charged with an additional 24 sexual offences which also date back several years. These allegedly occurred in Cape Dorset and Sanikiluaq and involve 14 different victims.

Escorted into the courthouse by Const. Darren Galley, a very tanned-looking Horne had his coat thrown over his head in order to avoid the media awaiting his arrival.

When the Nunavut Court of Justice was called to order, Horne's counsel asked the presiding justice of the peace, Marshall Coman, to postpone the date of his show cause hearing.

Speaking on behalf of Horne and her co-counsel Michael Chandler, Sue Cooper said that because they had only very recently been retained, they were not yet in a position to go ahead on the show cause hearing.

"We need the opportunity to fully review the disclosure," said Cooper.

Coman put the matter over until April 20 at 9:30 a.m., but unless appropriate accommodations can be made available for Horne at the Baffin Correctional Centre, the matter may be forced to go ahead before that date.

"He went to BCC initially, but the warden had concerns about keeping him there for safety reasons. The defence is trying to find other arrangements," said Brine.

Until that time, Horne will spend his days locked up in the police cells at the RCMP detachment in Iqaluit.

Coman reminded the audience members and members of the media that a publication ban on the matter had been set. This prevents any media from publishing the names of the victims.