Judge ignored Gladue report while giving Nunavik man an open-ended sentence, appeals court rules

A trial judge unfairly ignored an Inuk man's abusive and violent upbringing when slapping him with an indeterminate prison sentence for a string of sexual assaults, Quebec's Court of Appeal has ruled.

Joe Kritik, 32, was given an open-ended prison sentence last year after being declared a dangerous offender byQuebec Court Judge Claude Bigu.

Kritik, who has a long history of sexual offences, had been convicted of seven sexual assaults on Inuit women "in positions of vulnerability" between 2005 and 2014.

But earlier this week, the QuebecCourt of Appeal removed Kritik's dangerous offender status and ordered him to be re-sentenced.

The appeal court judges wroteBiguhad erred by not ordering a fullpsychiatric assessment and by ignoring information contained ina Gladuereport,a pre-sentencing document for Indigenous offenders.

The report detailed Kritik's dysfunctional family situation in Tasiujaq, a village of 300 people in eastern Nunavik.It also describedKritik's loss of culture, a serious head injury he suffered, numerous suicide attemptsand the physical and sexual abuse he experienced at a young age.

'Highly problematic upbringing'

Writing for the majority, Justice NicoleDuval HeslersaidKritikhad a"highly problematic upbringing," which should have been taken into account at sentencing.

Hesleralso questioned whyBigu, the trial judge, turned down a request forKritikto undergo a psychiatric assessment.

That decision was "surprising given the severe consequences of his judgment," Hesler wrote, also noting a nurse who treatedKritikhad raised the possibility he wasschizophrenic.

She said the decision to declare Kritik a dangerous offender and give him an open-ended sentence was based on an incomplete consideration of the information that was before the court.

"[T]he fact remains that the resulting sentence, as a whole, strikes one as insensitive to the specific reality of the Inuit people, who appear to be quite distinct," she wrote.

Along with ordering a new sentencing hearingbefore a different judge and setting aside the dangerous offender status, the appeals court ordered that Kritikundergoa complete psychiatric assessment.