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Child rapist out of prison, moves to Iqaluit

Iqalummiut say he’s not welcome

JOHN THOMPSON

Jason Hikoalok, 26, arrived in Iqaluit this Monday, after serving out an eight-year sentence for sexual assaults against children. He remained in RCMP custody as of press-time this week, as Crown lawyers sought a peace bond that would order Hikoalok to stay away from children, impose other conditions and provide for other supervision. Iqaluit residents are now circulating a petition that says Hikoalok is not welcome in the community.

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Jason Hikoalok, 26, finished an eight-year federal sentence on Monday, Nov. 6 for sexual assaults on children, one of them a brutal rape of a small child, committed in 1998. On the same day, Corrections Canada officials flew him from Yellowknife to Iqaluit.

Sgt. Mike Toohey said he hopes parents in Iqaluit will talk to their children about being careful around strangers and not walking alone.

“Be wary of people you don’t know, and be cautious,” he said. “It’s just common sense.”

This is the first time in Iqaluit that police have ever issued a public warning, with a picture, about an offender released into Iqaluit.

Soon after he walked off a plane in Iqaluit late Monday, police arrested Hikoalok and placed him in custody.

As of press time this past Wednesday, that’s where he’s remained, as the court dealt with an application for a peace bond that would order Hikoalok to stay away from children.

Specifically, the requested order would refrain Hikoalok from having any contact with a child under 14, as well as requiring him to stay more than 10 metres away from any public area where children could reasonably be expected to gather.

That includes daycare centres, schools, the swimming pool, and the public library.

It’s unclear why Hikoalok is in Iqaluit. Police and Crown lawyers say Hikoalok chose Iqaluit, after he was told by family members in Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk that he is not welcome in those communities.

“They said no. They had some real concerns, especially Kugluktuk, where he wants to return,” said Crown lawyer Judy Chan on Tuesday.

But legal aid lawyer Chris Debicki said that Hikoalok “has no desire to be here,” and that he is being “arbitrarily and illegally detained.”

Already, a petition has begun to circulate in Iqaluit, started by Natsiq Kangok, that states Hikoalok is not welcome in Iqaluit because he poses too great a threat to children.

During a council meeting on Tuesday, Coun. Simon Nattaq said in a member’s statement that he hoped council could send a similar message.

“This is a person Iqalum­muit do not want to come to their community,” Nattaq said.

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