Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Sep 16/05) - A Fort Simpson man who molested two young girls, including one victim who came forward nearly 15 years after the attack, has been sentenced to two years behind bars.

Floyd Browning pleaded guilty to both counts of sexual assault during an appearance in Territorial Court last Wednesday.

He admitted to fondling one of the girls sometime between January of 1990 and December of 1991, when she was four or five.

Crown attorney Brendan Gaunt said Browning promised the girl "two-dollars" if she agreed not to tell her family about the assault.

Browning also admitted to molesting another young girl during January of 2003.

In addition to the sex charges, the father and former heavy duty mechanic pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking.

Browning, whose long criminal record includes other convictions for sex and drug crimes, was busted by police on Feb. 25 with 57 grams of individually packaged pot.

In return for the guilty pleas, the Crown dropped two other sexual assault charges and recommended - along with Browning's lawyer - two years less one day behind bars. The move would allow Browning to serve his time at the North Slave Correction Centre in Yellowknife instead of a federal penitentiary.

"This was not a situation where the Crown's case was overly strong," Gaunt told Judge Robert Gorin.

While Gorin said the sentence was "on the low side", it was not "unreasonable." Judges are normally hesitant to dismiss recommendations that come from both the Crown and defence. Browning, who was born in Fort Simpson in 1958, could not remember the sexual assault from 15 years ago, but did not dispute the charge. He was drinking heavily at the time, his lawyer said.

Gorin - who later said one sexual assault was "not much more than a fondling" - sentenced Browning to eight months on each of the three charges.

He banned Browning from using guns for 10 years, except for hunting, and added his name to a national database of sex offenders. After his release, Browing will have to report any change of address to police.