Guy Quenneville
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 18, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an exotic dancer was sentenced to two years less a day in jail.

Shane West said he did not remember committing the act during a party at his house in early 2006 but changed his plea to guilty after the victim testified in NWT Supreme Court in May. He was sentenced on July 9.

"The trial was started. The jury was selected. The complainant testified, and after (that), Mr. West changed his plea," said Crown prosecutor Shannon Smallwood.

West also pleaded guilty last week to one count of possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and one count of possession of LSD for the purpose of trafficking, stemming from an incident earlier this year.

In a victim impact statement, the complainant said she often experiences nightmares and flashbacks and has begun abusing alcohol since the incident.

"I drink too much because all I want to do is forget about what happened," she said.

During a preliminary inquiry, the complainant testified that after giving West a lap dance at Harley's Hard Rock Saloon, a friend of West's asked her if she'd like to attend a party.

The complainant and another Harley's employee took a cab to West's home.

The complainant went on to say that she, along with West and another man at the party, willingly took a dose of GHB, commonly known as a date rape drug, and showed the men her clitoral piercing.

Later, after the complainant asked West to cook some food, she passed out although she testified that she remembers being carried to a bed by another man.

The complainant said she woke up with her pants and underwear down to her knees and that she saw West quickly pulling up his underwear.

In a pre-sentence report, West said he had consumed beer and smoked marijuana on the afternoon before the incident and that he blacked out that night.

He said he didn't believe the allegation until he had "learned about some of the other things I had done that night, and had totally denied doing. Then when this came up, it didn't seem that farfetched."

West also expressed remorse for his victim.

"I feel bad for that poor girl, how humiliated she must feel, and how she has to live with it."