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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A man who was tried for sexual assault stemming from a bum-grabbing incident on the McMahon Frame Lake trail has been found guilty, but his sentence isn't expected until Friday.

Christopher Vital, 30, was convicted on March 10 by Chief Judge Brian Bruser, after a lengthy trial. Vital appeared in territorial court on April 16 for sentencing, but Bruser said he would think it over until April 24.

"Mr. Vital spent a significant amount of his time on the stand concocting a wild and unbelievable story," Crown prosecutor Janice Walsh said April 16. "His explanation got more fantastical as the evidence came out."

The victim said while walking to work on the McMahon Frame Lake trail around 8 a.m. July 25, 2008, she had passed a man who grabbed her buttocks. She described the incident as a "full-hand grab" and immediately called police. Vital said during trial that he accidentally grabbed the woman's bum as he fell with wheeling arms as he passed her on the trail.

Walsh asked for a global sentence of 12 months - meaning one sentence for all three charges, including sexual assault, possession of a marijuana cigarette from July 25 and failure to appear in court on June 5.

Vital was also convicted of a separate sexual assault charge in Behchoko on April 2.

Defence lawyer Tom Boyd tried ti downplay the incident, referring to a public incident in which former prime minister John Turner had patted the buttocks of Liberal Party president Iona Campagnolo in 1984. The comparison was meant to convey that the crime was "on the lower end of sexual assault."

"In the case of Mrs Campagnolo, I'm not aware of any charges being laid against the then-prime minister or leader of the opposition," Boyd said.

Vital was asked if he had anything to say. He declined but his mother spoke briefly, stating three of her six children are in jail.

"I hope you don't have to give him lots of months (in jail)," she said.