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CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Hay River, N.W.T., man facing sex-related charges testifies at trial
WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it. A Hay River, N.W.T., man facing sex charges testified in his own defence in a Yellowknife courtroom on Wednesday. Justin Minute, 39, has pleaded not guilty to child luring, voyeurism and sexual assault. The trial before N.W.T Supreme Court Justice Karin L.E Taylor was in its third day. Minute told the court that he was "blown away by the accusations" made against him by the complainant in the case, and said he didn't know what was behind them. Earlier this week, the complainant, who was underage at time of the alleged incidents in 2018 and 2019, testified that she saw Minute's phone in a bathroom, pointed at the shower. She said he also made sexual jokes and touched her around her waist inappropriately. Her identity is protected by a publication ban. Minute told the court on Wednesday that he once accidentally forgot his phone in a bathroom, then used his watch's camera button to see where the phone was. He said he saw the shower on his watch, but no one was there. He said he never spied on the complainant. The accusations first came to light in February 2020 to the Hay River RCMP. The court heard that the police didn't recover any of the alleged bathroom recordings on Minute's phone or watch. Two of Minute's former partners also testified this week. They both told the court that Minute confessed to them that he did all of the things he's accused of. Some text messages and transcripts of phone recordings from Minute to his former partners were also read out in court. In one, Minute says he "should be in jail," and in another he says, "I feel like a bad person for the things I have done." In court Wednesday, Minute said there was a lot of miscommunication, and that he never confessed to any of the allegations. He agreed that some of the messages seemed like admissions of guilt, but he claimed he was frustrated at the time, and emotionally overwhelmed by the shame of being accused. He said his words did not come out as clearly as he intended at the time and that he had a hard time articulating his thoughts. "[She] confused shame with guilt," Minute said, referring to one of his ex-partners. In his cross examination, Crown prosecutor Morgan Fane said that a lot of Minute's testimony involved him saying he was misinterpreted, while the evidence sounded like a confession. Minute told the court the charges have affected him professionally and personally. He said he was employed as a case worker at the Hay River jail, and after he was charged he was reassigned. Minute said the charges have also affected his mental health, and that he had attempted suicide twice. Minute was the last witness to testify at the trial. Lawyers for both sides will give their closing arguments Thursday.
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Trial begins for a Hay River, N.W.T., man facing sex-related charges
WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it. A trial began Monday in a Yellowknife courtroom for a Hay River, N.W.T., man facing several sex-related charges. 39-year-old Justin Minute is accused of voyeurism, sexual assault, and child luring. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The charges are related to incidents that allegedly happened in Hay River and Fort Smith in 2018 and 2019. In February 2023, the RCMP arrested and charged Minute. According to court records, Minute had also been charged with voyeurism in January 2020, but that charge was later dropped. At the time of the alleged offences, Minute was working as a case manager at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre in Hay River. There is no suggestion that the allegations are connected to his work. The charges are related to one alleged victim, who was the first person to testify at the judge-only trial. The woman's identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban. The complainant told the court about an incident where she found Minute's phone in a bathroom, pointed at the toilet and with the camera application open. She also described other alleged incidents of inappropriate touching, sexual jokes, and text messages by Minute which had pictures of her. A teenager at the time, she said the incidents made her feel uncomfortable around Minute. She first brought the allegations to the Hay River RCMP in February 2020, and again in September 2022. Minute was arrested in 2023. During cross examination in N.W.T. Supreme Court on Monday, Minute's lawyer Evan McIntyre noted how many times Minute's accuser began her testimony with "I think," and implied it would be difficult to remember details from years ago. McIntyre also pointed out that when the complainant spoke to the RCMP, she said she did not think the phone camera in the bathroom was recording. McIntyre added that the complainant's first statement to police in 2020 only mentioned the bathroom allegation, and not any other inappropriate incidents. Her 2022 statement to police included more details about the other alleged incidents. The complainant told the court on Monday that she wasn't sure at first whether certain behaviours would have counted as inappropriate, and that's why she didn't mention them until her later statement to police. The trial continues Tuesday.
