BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO - Former Tlicho grand chief Joe Rabesca was sentenced May 19 to a year of probation for a sexual assault committed in Behchoko last year.

Rabesca's punishment by the courts has been met with a sense of anger and disbelief by some residents of Behchoko.

Rabesca, 62, was convicted on May 18 of sexually assaulting a woman on the afternoon of Oct. 13 2010, after she entered a room in his Behchoko home to interview him, said Crown prosecutor Angie Paquin.

According to Paquin, Rabesca reached out and touched the woman's buttocks at the end of his conversation with her.

Rabesca did not testify at the trial.

Paquin said, at the time of the assault, a second woman who testified in the trial and witnessed the incident said she saw a number of beer cans in the room where the offence took place.

Rabesca's punishment by the courts has been met with a sense of anger and disbelief by some residents.

Kevin Washie, a 23-year-old lifelong resident of Behchoko, feels that the one year probation sentence imposed on Rabesca is "too harsh."

"I think it's complete (expletive) that he got such a tough charge, and I think the whole trial was based on a giant misunderstanding," Washie said. "It's not fair."

Nora McSwain, a resident of Behchoko for close to 32 years, says she respects the former grand chief and feels that Rabesca is incapable of assault.

"I've known him (Rabesca) a long time; he's a nice person and a great leader. I don't believe he did it," she said.

Paquin said defence lawyer Laura Stevens pursued a conditional discharge in the case, and argued that it would be in the best interests of the community if Rabesca's leadership was not tainted by the presence of a sexual assault conviction.

As of press deadline, Stevens was unwilling to comment.

Judge Brian Bruser's reason for decision was that it was not in the proper interest of the community to jail Rabesca, according to Paquin.

Bruser imposed several conditions on the former grand chief, which include that Rabesca be of good behaviour, that he keep the peace, attend counselling, and have no contact with his victim.

Rabesca was most recently sworn in as Tlicho grand chief on Sept. 16, 2009. Rabesca stepped down as grand chief in October 2010, days before the charges were laid. He had served previous terms as grand chief and chief of Behchoko over the past few decades.

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