Dawn Ostrem & Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 29/01) - According to the Crown, Gordon Gerard Moreau's story is one of years of family abuse at the hands of a father. To the defence, it is one of a father trying the best he can.

To the judge, it is one of a father and a husband convicted of six counts of assault and one of assault causing bodily harm over a 12-year period.

For that, Territorial Supreme Court Justice Virginia Schuler sentenced him to 14 months imprisonment Oct. 26 after hearing submissions the previous day. Moreau was also placed on probation for two years with a condition that he not contact the victims.

"Assaults on a child are breaches of trust, and that gives added seriousness to them," said Schuler. "Lashing out physically is completely unacceptable and leads to more severe problems. These aren't disciplinary measures, these are assaults, whether out of anger or annoyance."

Responding to letters submitted by community members in support of Mr. Moreau, Schuler said: "No one on the outside really knows what goes on behind closed doors."

Moreau's trial at the end of August was the longest jury trial in the Fort Smith's history. A 12-person jury deliberated for nearly three days on 25 charges.

The jury convicted him of seven, acquitted him of 14 and could not reach a verdict on two. The Crown eventually stayed those two charges.

The 25-count indictment arose after Moreau's former wife left him after years of marriage with some of their children.

She was the victim of the assault causing bodily harm when at one point in the marriage Moreau hit her, bursting her eardrum.

Other assaults included beating his son with a metre stick and leaving welts on his buttocks and beating a daughter after she visited a friend Moreau didn't like.

Others include kicking one child down the stairs, punching and bloodying noses as well as smacking his wife with a paintbrush in front of the children.

Although the convictions stemmed from incidents between 1982 and 1994, Crown prosecutor Caroline Carrasco said, "Today is the day of reckoning. Today is the day his sentence will be imposed."

She detailed how the wife was financially dependent on her husband. Since she left, neither she or the children want anything to do with Moreau. His defence lawyer, Stephen Shabala, said the incidents were not carried on constantly. He said they were "short and sharp."

"I don't think there was any malice in the assaults on his children," he added. "There is no doubt whatsoever Mr. Moreau cared for his family very deeply and did his very best."

Portions of his children's victim impact statements were read in court and appeared to sting Moreau as he sat at the defence table. "I would really like to apologize to my family for letting them down as a father," he said. "I think my children feel I don't love them any more but that is not true. I do love them very much."