Teenaged Iqaluit girl convicted of sexually assaulting man with broomstick

A teenaged Iqaluit girl was been found guilty this week of sexually assaulting a 29-year-old man with a broomstick during a merciless orgy of violence in May 2009 that left the man beaten beyond recognition,.

“This is the face of violence in Nunavut. It is as irrational, as it is devastating, to those who are exposed to it,” Justice Robert Kilpatrick said in a written judgment issued Oct. 21.

The 29-year-old victim, known only as “EC,” suffered heavy bruising over much of his face and upper body, as well as a large wound extending from his rectum to the inner part of his anus.

A police investigator who knew EC said he had difficulty recognizing him when he first saw him at the hospital after the incident.

The girl, known only as “GI,” was 17 at the time. She stood trial this past Sept. 12 to Sept. 15 on a charge of sexual assault causing bodily harm.

Two men, Joshua Angmarlik and Mosha Noah, participated with her in the beating, which occurred at housing unit 309C near the end of a long Smirnoff and weed party that started early in the evening of May 21, 2009 and continued into the morning of May 22.

Much of the contraband liquor they drank was financed by the sale of carvings at local hotels.

All three were first charged with aggravated sexual assault, but Angmarlik and Noah each pleaded guilty in late 2009 to a reduced charge of aggravated assault.

GI and her 16-year-old friend, JL, ended up at 309C that evening because they were looking for a party.

There they found Noah, Angmarlik and their eventual victim, a 29-year-old man known only as “EC.”

The five people shared about five grams of marijuana and at least two bottles of vodka, one of which was bought with money acquired by selling carvings at a local hotel.

After various visitors came and went, the original group of five fell asleep drunk, then woke up at around 6:00 a.m. May 22.

Soon after that they pooled their money and bought a 60-ounce bottle of vodka for $150 and starting drinking again, out of empty pop bottles and cups.

At some point that morning, a one-sided “fight” broke out, with EC on one side, and Noah, Angmarlik and GI on the other.

Various trial witnesses gave different stories about how the violence started. But the result was that EC was pummeled, kicked and stomped repeatedly, and then beaten with a broomstick.

Medical evidence listed at least 18 major injuries to EC’s body, including many large bruises covering his face, upper body, and legs, and a serious injury to his anus.

“It is clear from the scale of this attack, from the degree and type of force applied and the extent of the victim’s many injuries, that this attack was intended to gratuitously inflict pain for pain’s sake. This beating was intended to brutalize an already helpless victim,” Kilpatrick said in his judgment.

One of the men beat EC with the broomstick until the weapon broke in half. GI then picked up a piece of the broomstick with a black plastic handle attached and clubbed him with it.

After that she tore EC’s jeans open, opened his boxer shorts, then inserted the broom handle into the man’s anus, watching it disappear.

Kilpatrick said there was no apparent motive for the anal rape, other than GI’s own anger, which flowed from her own history of victimization and self-destructive substance abuse.

“The act complained of in this case was done for the purpose of inflicting pain, for the purpose of degrading, humiliating and brutalizing the victim,” Kilpatrick said.

He pointed out that GI has already been raped three times by older men and that she once found one of her boyfriends hanging by his neck.

“The sad reality is that there is often no rational reason for the violence offered to others. Many of Nunavut‟s serious violent crimes are committed by those who are drunk. Many wake up after a night of drinking to discover that they have committed horrific crimes against those they claim to love,” Kilpatrick said.

He found the girl guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm. She has yet to be sentenced.

The names of youthful offenders under 18 may not be published or broadcast.

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