HAY RIVER - A former Yukon MLA was found not guilty of indecent assault after a two-day trial in Hay River ended May 2.

The charge against Haakon Arntzen was related to an alleged incident in Fort Smith in the early 1970s.

Haakon Arntzen, a former Yukon MLA, was found not guilty of indecent assault. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

A woman, now 43, accused Arntzen of forcing her to fondle him sexually when she was nine or 10 years old in 1973 or 1974.

However, in delivering his verdict, NWT Supreme Court Justice Rene Foisy, who heard the case without a jury, expressed doubt such an assault ever occurred.

In particular, he questioned the "memory-jogging exercises" of the complainant.

"I ask myself why they were necessary if what she says happened in Fort Smith in 1973," the justice said.

Under cross-examination, defence lawyer Brian Beresh had pressed the complainant on what he called her memory regression with the help of a relative.

The woman said she needed help to remember the incident because it was so difficult to talk about and filled her with fear.

In his verdict, Foisy also noted the complainant had voluntary contact with Arntzen after the alleged assault, even though she testified she feared him.

As for Arntzen, the judge said his testimony was given in a straightforward manner.

On several occasions when asked whether he had sexually assaulted the woman when she was a child, Arntzen replied, "Absolutely not."

Arntzen lived briefly in Fort Smith, where he was a heavy equipment instructor and driver examiner.

Indecent assault, as the charge was known in the 1970s, would today be called sexual assault.

Arntzen, 60, was obviously pleased by the verdict.

"I knew all along my innocence," he said as he was leaving court. "I'm very glad to have proved that."

Beresh is concerned about how the allegation developed, noting he would investigate the memory regression.

"I think it was an attempt to instill a memory," he said.

The complainant, who cannot be identified by court order, no longer lives in Fort Smith. She went to the RCMP with her accusations in 2003.

Arntzen was elected as an MLA in 2002, first serving as a member of the Yukon Party and then as an independent until he resigned in 2005.

His resignation was because of a conviction for indecent assault in the Yukon, again with the allegation dating back to the 1970s.

However, Arntzen won an appeal of the conviction and a new trial is set for June.