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IQALUIT - A Sanikiluaq man has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for sexually touching a dozen boys ranging in age from five to 12.

Jobie Crow, 70, was convicted on 11 counts of touching for sexual purpose a person under 14 years old stemming from incidents in 2006-2007.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge of indecent assault, relating to an incident in 1973.

Crow nodded in agreement as each victim's name was read aloud in court Wednesday and the charges interpreted into Inuktitut.

The Crown prosecutor said that over the course of a year, Crow had made his home in Sanikiluaq into a place for young boys to hang out and play games like cards, jacks and hide-and-seek. Crow lured some of the boys with gifts of chips, chocolate and soft drinks and sometimes cash or cigarettes.

During their visits Crow sometimes touched the boys through their clothing, or pulled their pants down and touched them sexually with his hands. Most of the boys were between nine and 12 years old, but the youngest victim was five.

The charge from 1973 pertained to a seven-year-old girl Crow sexually touched several times over the course of a year in her grandmother's bedroom. He was a neighbour and a friend of the family.

After the details were laid out for him and translated into Inuktitut, the court asked Crow if all that stated was correct. He agreed it was.

Statements from the parents indicated that many of the boys had radically changed their behaviours, performing less well in school, becoming disrespectful of authority and in at least one case taking up substance abuse such as sniffing gas. Judge Rene Foisy said the full effects of the trauma on the boys may not be known for many years.

Foisy sentenced Crow to five-and-a-half years in prison. However, Crow received double credit for the 14 months he had been in custody awaiting trial, meaning he has 38 months left to serve.

After leaving prison, Crow cannot possess a gun for 10 years. His DNA will be added to the Canadian criminal database and his name will be on the Sex Offender Registry for 20 years. He will also be barred for life from going anywhere children may be present unless there are adults around.

Crow will be eligible for parole after serving a third of his sentence.

He didn't speak to the court during the hearing, but his lawyer said he was remorseful for what he had done and said Crow asked God and the community for forgiveness.

"I know now that I've made terrible mistakes," lawyer Chris Debicki said on Crow's behalf.