Trial begins for a Hay River, N.W.T., man facing sex-related charges

Nadeer Hashmi · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 03, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 16 minutes ago

WARNING: This article may impact those who person experienced​ ​​​sexual unit oregon cognize idiosyncratic affected by it. 

A proceedings began Monday successful a Yellowknife courtroom for a Hay River, N.W.T., man facing respective sex-related charges.

39-year-old Justin Minute is accused of voyeurism, intersexual assault, and kid luring. He has pleaded not blameworthy to each charges.

The charges are related to incidents that allegedly happened successful Hay River and Fort Smith successful 2018 and 2019.

In February 2023, the RCMP arrested and charged Minute. According to tribunal records, Minute had besides been charged with voyeurism successful January 2020, but that complaint was aboriginal dropped. 

At the clip of the alleged offences, Minute was moving arsenic a lawsuit manager astatine the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre successful Hay River. There is nary proposition that the allegations are connected to his work.

The charges are related to 1 alleged victim, who was the archetypal idiosyncratic to attest at the judge-only trial. The woman's identity is protected by a court-ordered work ban.

The complainant told the tribunal astir an incidental wherever she recovered Minute's telephone successful a bathroom, pointed astatine the toilet and with the camera exertion open. She besides described other alleged incidents of inappropriate touching, intersexual jokes, and substance messages by Minute which had pictures of her. A teen astatine the time, she said the incidents made her consciousness uncomfortable astir Minute.

She archetypal brought the allegations to the Hay River RCMP in February 2020, and again successful September 2022. Minute was arrested successful 2023. 

During transverse introspection successful N.W.T. Supreme Court connected Monday, Minute's lawyer Evan McIntyre noted however galore times Minute's accuser began her grounds with "I think," and implied it would beryllium hard to retrieve details from years ago.

McIntyre besides pointed retired that erstwhile the complainant spoke to the RCMP, she said she did not deliberation the telephone camera successful the bath was recording.

McIntyre added that the complainant's archetypal connection to constabulary successful 2020 only mentioned the bath allegation, and not any other inappropriate incidents. Her 2022 connection to constabulary included much details astir the different alleged incidents.

The complainant told the tribunal connected Monday that she wasn't sure astatine first whether definite behaviours would person counted arsenic inappropriate, and that's wherefore she didn't notation them until her aboriginal connection to police. 

The proceedings continues Tuesday.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, determination is enactment disposable done situation lines and section enactment services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're successful contiguous information oregon fearfulness for your information oregon that of others astir you, delight telephone 911.