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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The Crown prosecutor's office is considering a dangerous offender application against a Fort Providence man found guilty on Sept. 22 of forcible confinement and sexual assault against two teen girls.

Robert Bonnetrouge makes an obscene gesture as he leaves the Yellowknife courthouse after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting and confining two teenage girls in Fort Providence in 2009. He will find out on Nov. 21 whether the Crown intends to pursue a dangerous offender application against him. - NNSL file photo

Robert Bonnetrouge, 33, wiped tears from his eyes as he sat beside his lawyer, Tracy Bock, listening to Crown prosecutor Shannon Smallwood inform the court that she was considering filing the dangerous offender application at Bonnetrouge's scheduled sentencing date of Nov. 21, 2011. A dangerous offender is sent to prison for an indeterminate period with no chance of parole for seven years.

If the application is not filed, Justice Louise Charbonneau said the court would proceed with sentencing.

Fifteen minutes earlier on Sept. 22, a six-man, six-woman Supreme Court jury came back with a guilty verdict after Bonnetrouge's four-day trial.

Both female victims testified at the trial, which was based on an incident that occurred two years ago. The first witness sat crouched over and at times spoke so softly she had to be reminded several times by Charbonneau to speak up so the jury could hear her testimony. The victim also used the hood of her sweater to further block her view of Bonnetrouge, even though a screen was placed between the two.

She testified that on July 4, 2009, she and her friend, the other victim, began drinking vodka and smoking marijuana at her friend's grandmother's house in Fort Providence with a male friend.

They continued drinking and smoking marijuana as they walked around the community, and then when they went to Bonnetrouge's house.

The first female victim testified she brought about 10 marijuana roaches with her to the house. After drinking and continuing to smoke marijuana, the two girls tried to leave while their male friend was passed out in a bedroom, she said.

However, as the girls were trying to put their shoes on, Bonnetrouge came up behind them, dragged them both by their shirt hoods into a spare bedroom and raped them.

"I couldn't do anything. He was holding me down by my shirt," said the first victim. "After he was done raping (the second girl) he let us go."

Afterwards, the two girls went back to the grandmother's house and fell asleep. They notified the RCMP of the attack the next day.

Bonnetrouge did not testify in his own defence.

This is the second time Bonnetrouge has been tried on these charges this year. In January, a trial ended in a hung jury.

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