The child, now 11, testified the Lutsel K'e man she called "uncle" assaulted her in the basement of her Yellowknife home.

She told the court she was feeling lonely one day when her mother was out buying alcohol. She lay down on the basement floor where her mother's boyfriend and Michel were sleeping.

Michel was a regular visitor at her house and she trusted him, she said.

After Michel assaulted her, she ran upstairs and didn't tell anyone until a class discussion about inappropriate touching a year later.

At the time, she could describe what Michel looked like and where he lived. But because she always referred to him as uncle, she couldn't remember his name. During the trial, defence lawyer Scott Duke suggested the person who assaulted her could have been someone else.

But after deliberating for five hours, the jury rejected that theory.

Justice Ted Richard sentenced the man to two years less a day.

Richard referred to the girl's victim impact statement during sentencing. The child felt confused and "like throwing up" after the assault, said Richard, and preferred to stay around women.

"This is a serious crime," said Richard. "The sentence imposed must reflect that and Mr. Michel's moral responsibility for what he has done to this young girl."