SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 39-year-old man who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 65-year-old woman could go to jail indefinitely if the Crown proceeds with an application to have him designated as a dangerous offender.

Dennis Sassie was found guilty in Fort Simpson on Nov. 4 of an assault on Nov. 11 and 12, 2008.

He entered a woman's home at approximately 2 a.m. after the woman opened the door, thinking she heard dogs outside. He then pushed himself on her physically and assaulted her. The victim lived alone and had known Sassie since he was a child.

A tall, heavy-set man with long, thick hair and a moustache, Sassie appeared in Supreme Court in Yellowknife on Dec. 8. He was wearing an orange T-shirt and several tattoos were visible on his forearms. Sassie's sentencing has been delayed until the court hears an application from the Crown to proceed with a 60-day psychiatric assessment, the first step in possibly designating him a dangerous offender.

"It is quite a long process. It can take up to a year," Crown prosecutor Sandra Aitken said in court on Dec. 8.

The goal of the dangerous offender legislation is to protect the public from people who are likely to re-offend.

The Crown must show there is a pattern of behaviour and the offender is a danger. The Attorney General of Canada has the final say in the designation. Once a person is designated a dangerous offender, they can be jailed indefinitely, until they show they are not likely to re-offend.

Crown prosecutor Shannon Smallwood, who will be proceeding with the application in January, said Sassie has a lengthy criminal record that includes at least seven convictions for assault.

In 1991, Sassie was convicted of a sexual assault and sentenced to five years in prison. He was convicted of sexual assault again in 1998 and sentenced to seven years. Both previous sexual assaults happened in Fort Liard.

Smallwood said the lengthy convictions indicate the serious nature of Sassie's previous crimes.

"When someone has a designated offence and two priors for which they received over two years as a sentence, we're required by law to consider whether we're going to submit an application," she said.

Sentencing for sexual assaults can range from probation to time in prison.

Sassie will be back in court in Yellowknife on Jan. 21, 2010.