REGINA — Sentencing in a sexual assault that occurred on the Carry the Kettle First Nation took place this week in Regina’s Court of King’s Bench.
Justice C.L. Dawson read a lengthy decision on the matter, lasting just over an hour, which saw Leon Prettyshield-Spencer accused of one charge common assault and another charge of sexual assault. While witness testimony presented during the trial varied, there were some common facts that firmly established a timeline of events.
On May 17, 2021, Prettyshield-Spencer and the victim agreed to meet at The Circle – a local hangout on the Carry the Kettle First Nation. The pair had met on social media, and planned their first in-person interaction.
After spending a few moments at The Circle, the pair returned to Prettyshield-Spencer’s home. They lingered in the car before going inside the house.
According to victim testimony, Prettyshied-Spencer had been trying to hug and kiss her while at The Circle. She claimed his behaviour advanced once parked in front of the house, to him eventually moving to the back seat of the vehicle and tried to forcefully pull her back from the front seat – hence the common assault charge. The victim did eventually move to the back seat where his advances continued.
The pair then entered the house, going upstairs to what the victim assumed was Prettyshield-Spencer’s bedroom. This was where she says he sexually assaulted her twice, then she left the residence on foot.
Prettyshield-Spencer followed a few moments later and gave the victim a ride back to The Circle, then she testified running home.
The next day, the victim told a councillor about the incident, who started the process of notifying police.
According to testimony presented by Prettyshield-Spencer, the pair did not have sex that night. In his recollection of events, they came to the house, went to his bedroom, and after a few minutes of watching him play video games, the victim became angry and left on foot.
“In reviewing Mr. Prettyshield-Spencer’s evidence, it is apparent that in relation to important aspects of what happened that evening, his evidence was inconsistent,” said Justice Dawson, explaining that it changed during examination and cross examination. “And it was inconsistent in several material respects from what he told police in his voluntary sworn statement.”
Justice Dawson also found witness testimony from two of Prettyshield-Spencer’s relatives – who claimed to be at the house that night – to be unreliable as well.
“Now while the Court does not expect a witness to have exact recall, and while inconsistencies can often be explained and can be unintentional or innocuous, the inconsistencies in Mr. Prettyshield-Spencer’s were about his conduct toward the complainant,” Justice Dawson said, adding his testimony often contained long pauses before changing his story. “Mr. Prettyshield-Spencer’s evidence was impeached on multiple occasions, and he admitted that the evidence he had given was not true.”
“All of this leads me to conclude that I do not believe his evidence in relation to the denial that he sexually assaulted her,” said Justice Dawson. “It is not credible, and I do not believe it, and I am not left in a reasonable doubt by it.”
Prettyshield-Spender sat with his head down as Justice Dawson read that she found him guilty on both counts – that of common assault and sexual assault.
Justice Dawson ordered a pre-sentence report, and the matter will return to Court on July 26. While it is not expected a decision will be heard on that date, it will give time for the pre-sentence report to be completed. The matter will be spoken to on July 26 with further proceedings discussed on that date.
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