Judge orders 1-year sentence for Sask. woman who abducted child and forged IDs to flee country

A Saskatoon woman has been given a one-year jail sentence, to be served in the community, forabducting her child and using false identification to take the child illegally across the border into the U.S.

Dawn Walkerpleaded guilty on Thursday at Saskatoon provincial court to three criminal charges:abduction in contravention of a custody order, making statements that were false and misleading for the purpose of obtaining passport, and possessing forged documents with the intention of committing an offence.

The charges stem from a high-profileincident involving Walker that happened in the summer of 2022. Walker and her child seemingly vanished from Saskatoonand anextensive missing persons search followed.

The Indigenousmother and childwere found safe inOregon City, and it wasrevealed thatWalker had orchestrated their disappearance.

Judge Brad Mitchell accepted a joint submission from the prosecutor and defenceof a one-year conditional sentence order followed by 18 months of probation for Walker.That means Walker will serve her sentence in the community, solong as she abides by strictcourt-imposedconditions.

Walker and her legal team have repeatedly insisted that she fled the country in a desperate bid to protect her child and herself from her ex-partner.Her ex-partner denies all allegations of domestic abuse. They both spoke in court on Thursday.

Walker called her actions a lapse in judgment and said she was motivated by love for her child.

"As an Indigenous parent it is my sacred duty, responsibility, to protect my [child]'s innocence," Walker, who is from the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan, said.

"I am truly sorry for my actions," she said. "I cannot change what I did, but I will learn from it, grow from it and help others."

Crown prosecutor TylaOlenchuk said the Crown does not agree in any way that Walker was abused by herex-partner or that the child was in danger because of him.

"I think the take away here by her guilty plea is an acknowledgement by her that she did not have a legal defence to these claims or to these allegations," Olenchuk said.

"These matters were fully investigated by several different agencies and did not result in charges."

Contentious custody negotiations

According to an agreed statement of facts, the couple was together for about four years before they split in 2018. They then went through contentious custody negotiations regarding their child.

In 2020, Walker reported her ex to the police, alleging that he was abusive.She also went to the Ministry of Social Services in 2021 with abuse allegations. Neither agency's investigation resulted in charges or action against her ex.

Watch Walker arrive to court Thursday:

Dawn Walker arrives to court before pleading guilty

1 year ago

Duration 0:38

Dawn Walker, a Saskatoon woman accused of abducting her child and faking their deaths, pleaded guilty to three offences in provincial court Thursday.

Walker's defence team said she was failed by these authorities and had to take matters into her own hands.

Court heard that her preparation to leave the country with their child began as early as March 2022. She took steps to steal the identities of two Indigenouswomen, both of whom were under her authority in her job,andone of their children. She applied for and created fraudulent identification documents, opened a bank account using afalse name and transferred $77,000 into it.

She also used $10,000 cash to buy a new vehicle in June 2022.

On July 24, 2022, Walker and her child were reported missing. Walker had staged their personal belongings, a fishing rod and her truck near the South Saskatchewan River.

• U.S. sending Dawn Walker, accused of faking her own death, back to Canada to face criminal charges
• U.S. court docs outline allegations that Sask. woman staged her disappearance

The missing persons search along the river was extensive, involving multiple agencies and volunteers.As people feared that they had drowned,the mother and childwere travellingthrough the U.S.

Her child told police"he and his mother had gone on a trip and they had gotten lost on the way to Las Vegas."

Father of child denies all abuse allegations

While the missing persons search was underway for Walker and her child, some of her supporters began to cast suspicion on her ex.

Heshared a victim impact statement in court Thursday, describing how hurtful it was to hear people say they thought he did something nefarious to his child.

"We were devastated the moment they found Dawn's truck by the river," he said.

He said he was advised to avoid helping with the main search for the pair because of the abuseallegations.

"I felt helpless that I was not able to search for my own child."

Hecalled his child the biggest victim in this situation and deniedall allegations of abuse.

"My life and my family's life has been foreveraltered," he said. "I fear that if Dawn is not held accountable for her actions, I fear her behaviour will further escalate."

Defence says systems fail Indigenous women

Walker has been represented in court byMarie Henein, who isone of Canada's best-known defence lawyers.

Henein said Walker, like many Indigenous women, has been a victim ofpersonal abuse and systemic failings.

Walker's family were residential school survivors and Walker personally attended day school, growing up in a home that hadphysical abuse and addictions, Heneinsaid.Court heard that in adulthood she has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

Henein said that despite these challenges, Walker rose to be a woman of prominence in the community and a known advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women. She had secured employment ina top position of authority at the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations managing92 employees and overseeing the organizational budget. She's alsoan accomplished author who holds two university degrees.

The lawyer said Walker wouldn't have committed these crimesunless she had to.

"This is an Indigenous mother who sought help from authorities, who was a victim over and over and over again since childhood, who rose above it,and who was not heard and who was so distressed that she felt she had no other option than to engage in this."

Watch Walker's lawyer Marie Heneinspeak outside court:

Dawn Walker's lawyer speaks outside court

1 year ago

Duration 1:44

Marie Henein, lawyer for Dawn Walker, speaks outside of Saskatoon provincial court after Walker pleaded guilty to three offences.

A 'significant sentence'

In his sentencing decision, Judge Mitchell noted that Walker had a well-conceived and organized plan that was carried out over the course of several months, that she intentionally misled public and family members causing immense emotional trauma and that the cost for the missing persons search was significant.

However, he also noted that she pleaded guilty, has shown remorse andtaken responsibility for her actions,doesn't have a criminal record, has been faithful to strict bail conditions, has greatinfluence in community,and has enduredhardships and challengesas an Indigenous woman.

Crown prosecutor Tyla Olenchuk said she believes this is"a significant sentence."

"Ms. Walker will now be serving a jail sentence in the community and this sentence really sends a message that the courts will not stand by and have people who are displeased or unhappy with how family law proceedings are going, abscond with their children and take the law into their own hands," said Crown prosecutor Tyla Olenchuk.

"It is important for people to understand that abusing positions of trust and not going through the proper legal proceedings cannot be condoned."

Walker still faces charges in the U.S. offelony aggravated identity theftandmisdemeanour identity theft.

Watch Crown prosecutor Tyla Olenchukspeak outside court:

Crown prosecutor in Dawn Walker case says motives and circumstances do not change that she still pleaded guilty

12 months ago

Duration 3:02

A Saskatoon mother who pleaded guilty to kidnapping her own child, faking their deaths and then taking off to the United States will serve a 12-month sentence in the community, followed by 18 months probation. The case raised questions about how Indigenous women are treated by Saskatchewan police and the courts. Crown prosecutor Tyla Olenchuk says Walker's guilty plea is an acknowledgement by her that she did not have a legal defence to these claims.