Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Fort Smith (Sep 02/02) - A Fort Smith man has been convicted of one count of rape involving a teenage girl in the early 1980s.

Kenneth Stanley Edkins, 46, was convicted following a jury trial in NWT Supreme Court in Fort Smith last week.

At the time of the offence, Edkins was a house parent at a group home in Fort Smith and the 16-year-old victim was a resident of the home.

Testifying in his own defence, Edkins admitted to having sex with the girl, but claimed it was consensual. The offence occurred sometime between November 1980 and January 1981.

Edkins was found not guilty on a second count of rape allegedly involving another 16-year-old girl, who was not a resident of the group home.

A hearing will be held in Yellowknife on Sept. 5 at which time the defence will make a formal request for a pre-sentencing report. The hearing will also set a date for sentencing.

Crown prosecutor Sadie Bond told the court that she would be seeking a lengthy jail sentence.

Edkins has been remanded to custody in Yellowknife.

A publication ban on details of the case that might identify the victim was imposed by Justice Virginia Schuler.

Edkins was charged with rape because that was the section of the Criminal Code in effect at the time. Such an offence would now be called sexual assault.