Dangerous offender gets 10 years instead of indefinite sentence, N.W.T. Supreme Court rules

A Northwest Territories Supreme Court justice has re-sentenced a Nunavut man convicted for a 2012 sexual assault.

Noel Avadluk was declared a dangerous offender in 2017 and was handed an indefinite prison sentence. He appealed that sentence and won.

Both Avadluk's lawyer and the Crown prosecutor recommended a sentence of 10 years custody followed by 10 years of supervision in the community. On Friday, Justice Louise Charbonneau agreed that was appropriate.

Avadluk has been in prison since his original sentencing for what the judge described as a "sudden, brutal and sustained" sexual assault. It happened in Yellowknife and was his second sexual assault conviction.

Now 52 years old, Avadluk of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, has a total of 43 criminal convictions.

Avadluk attended Friday's sentencing by video from the Bath Institution, a prison near Kingston, Ontario.

With time already served on his 10-year sentence, Avadluk will stay in prison for just over two more years. He will then remain under supervision, which is similar to probation, until August 2037.

Justice Charbonneau said her decision was partly based on a new psychiatric assessment by Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe, who concluded Avadluk's risk of harming others is manageable. Lohrasbe said this could be possible with abstinence from alcohol and Avadluk's co-operation.

That contradicts a previous assessment that found Avadluk's risk to the public would not decrease with age.

Charbonneau called Lohrasbe's report "thorough" and "fair." She said it is the most recent report of Avadluk's assessment and should be given more weight.

Avadluk will be in his 60s when the supervision order ends in 2037. Charbonneau warned him any breaches could lead to to another 10 years in prison.

Charbonneau said Friday's decision constituted an appropriate sentence, and also referenced to an earlier Court of Appeal decision where the court identified problems with Avadluk's initial sentencing in light of a subsequent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada.

During sentencing of dangerous offenders, it emphasized the judge must also take into account other factors, such as the offender's moral blameworthiness, and impose the least restrictive sentence required to protect the public. 

The judge also recommended the correctional service and parole board use Lohrasbe's report as a resource for managing Avadluk's risk of re-offending and guiding his reintegration in a way that keeps the public safe.