Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 26/02) - After 12 hours of deliberation and being sequestered overnight at the Explorer Hotel, a jury of eight women and three men Wednesday found 36-year-old Leonard Fish guilty of sexual assault.

Fish, who did not spend any time in pre-trial custody, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for raping a friend while she slept on July 3, 2001.

The court heard Fish, his girlfriend, and the 24-year-old victim, were drinking together at the Right Spot the night of July 2. After bar closing, the three of them, accompanied by two other males, went to the home of Fishs girlfriend.

Once there, the victim passed out in a bedroom alongside another individual. The complainant testified the next thing she remembered was feeling someone on top of her while something penetrated her vagina.

She testified that she then awoke and found herself in her friends bed lying next to Fish, while his girlfriend and her young son slept on his other side. She then realized her pants were unzipped and unbuttoned.

The victim told Justice J.E. Richard and the jury that she began screaming and yelling after she realized that somebody had touched her or done something to her while she slept. She then asked Fishs girlfriend to call the police.

Crown prosecutor Caroline Carrasco called seven witnesses during the trial. David Garton, a forensic biologist from the RCMP Forensics Lab in Edmonton, testified that a vaginal swab sample obtained by Stanton Territorial Hospital staff shortly after the attack contained seminal fluid.

That fluid was later found by Garton to contain DNA that matched Fishs DNA profile in his blood sample. He said the chances of another person showing the same DNA profile is one in 300 billion.

But defence lawyer Scott Duke argued his client did not have sex with the complainant.

Fish said he awoke at approximately 5:30 a.m. to go to the washroom. When he walked past the room where the victim was sleeping, he said he noticed her pants were unzipped.

Concerned for her safety, Fish said he woke the victim and told her she should accompany him to his girlfriends bedroom. He said she followed him out of the bedroom.

The victim, however, claimed she did not remember anything after she passed out hours before.

She claims to have consumed 10 beers or more on the night before the attack. Carrasco argued the victim did not follow him into the other room, but instead was carried by Fish and placed in the other bed.

Duke argued the victim was mistaken about the events that occurred that evening. He said Fish did not touch the victim sexually.

The 11-member jury was sequestered on Tuesday night and returned to the court house for deliberations Wednesday morning. Finally, at 2:30 p.m. a verdict was reached.

Carrasco argued for a sentence in the range of four years in custody, since Fish has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1982.

That record includes several violent convictions such as assault and assaulting a police officer.

So far there has been no remorse shown said Carrasco.

She argued the victim felt safe in the home of her friend and Fish took advantage of her vulnerability when she could not protect herself.

This type of crime is prevalent in the North, she said, urging Justice J.E. Richard to impose a lengthy sentence in order to ensure denunciation and deterrence of sex-related offences.

Upon sentencing, Justice Richard said Fish displayed callous disregard for her as a human being.

Fish showed no visible signs of remorse upon sentencing. He chose not to speak on his own behalf before the sentence was handed down.