Warning: disturbing content
A former chief of the Yellow Quill First Nation has been sentenced to four years in prison for sexually assaulting two girls repeatedly seven years ago.
The victims, who were 10 and 12 years old at the time, were taken to a rural property where Henry Hank Neapetung would use parts of his body to touch them in a variety of sexual ways, according to a statement of facts read aloud during his sentencing hearing on Thursday.
Although there was no penile penetration, Neapetung would touch their genitals with his penis until ejaculation, Crown prosecutor John Knox said. Court heard he would often pay the girls afterwards.
In Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench this week, Neapetung pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault. The charges represent about 30 separate assaults between January 2009 and November 2010, Knox said.
Neapetung, 67, was scheduled to stand trial on six other charges: two counts of sexual interference, two counts of invitation to sexual touching and two counts each of making and possessing child pornography. Those charges were stayed in exchange for his guilty pleas.
Justice Daryl Labach accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence to impose the four-year term, but admitted initially thinking five or six years would be appropriate. While judges are not bound to accept joint submissions, the Supreme Court of Canada has stated that they should only deviate in cases where the proposed sentence “would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.”
Labach told Neapetung he violated the trust and innocence of two girls, giving them nightmares, a distrust of men and “an awful lot of hurt.”
Victim impact statements from the girls were filed in court.
“To this day, I cannot feel completely comfortable around any male figure. I feel disgusted with my own body and I’m constantly looking for any flaws that may cause people to look at me in a negative way,” one girl wrote.
“Henry has ruined my life,” wrote the other girl. “I am unable to feel comfortable around myself because every time I am naked it brings back those horrible memories from my childhood.”
Both girls also described being re-victimized through the delayed court process. The case was set for trial twice before, but didn’t proceed when Neapetung failed to show up and then lost contact with his lawyer.
Speaking in court, he apologized for the delay and apologized to the two girls, who sat in the courtroom’s front row. He wants the court to know “the journey to healing begins here,” defence lawyer Carl Swenson said.
Labach noted Neapetung was an alcoholic who got sober and improved his life long before the assaults, making this criminal behaviour all the more baffling.
As part of his sentence, Neapetung must submit a DNA sample and will be placed on the national sex offender registry.
“You will carry this label with you for the rest of your life,” Labach said.
bmcadam@postmedia.com
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