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April 12, 2002
Time no longer on his side
Daniel Komoartok, 26, received
a conditional sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of assault in Iqaluit
on April 19 one assault going back to September 1999.
The first assault charge
surfaced on Sept. 4, 2001, when the RCMP received a call about a male causing
a disturbance at the citys White Row housing complex. When the officers
arrived, Komoartok, a jewelry maker, was leaving the house with his infant child
and a baby bag. His common law spouse, visibly distressed, wanted the child
back.
Komoartok handed the infant
over after police exercised "a necessary level of force" the court
heard. A police interview with Komoartoks spouse resulted in the police
laying two assault charges: one dating back 10 days, the other going as far
back as Sept. 1, 1999. During one of the attacks, Komoartok threw the woman
to the ground, kneened her in the neck and then twisted her neck.
The woman and the child
now live in Clyde River.
Judge Beverly Browne handed
down her sentence and encouraged Komoartok to make better choices in difficult
situations.
"You have lots of
good things going for you. You need to learn to deal with the things not going
so well," she said.
The first four months of
Komoartoks sentence will be served under house arrest.
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