Former chief in Manitoba assaulted at Winnipeg courthouse says lawyer

Warning: This story contains details of an alleged sexual assault. The former chief of a First Nation in Manitoba was assaulted on his way into the Winnipeg courthouse Monday morning, a provincial court judge was told. Christopher Traverse was injured and two people were arrested, his lawyer Candace Olson said. Traverse was attending the second day of his two-day child abuse trial. He has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault, sexual interference and child pornography for an incident that allegedly occurred in December 2023. The trial began March 31 and was scheduled to resume April 7. It is now put over to June 24, along with a request for extra security. “We’re not ready to proceed today,” Crown attorney Boyd McGill told court. “Mr. Traverse was injured. We can’t proceed under these circumstances.” The extent of the injuries were not disclosed. Olson said it happened as her client was at the downtown courthouse. Traverse is not in custody. He was arrested last February and granted bail. He was the chief of the Interlake community at the time. “He was the victim of an assault outside the courthouse,” said Olson, who declined to provide further details outside the courtroom. “There have been two arrests so far.” She requested “extra security” for future court appearances. The Winnipeg police said they’re investigating. Last Monday, court heard Traverse allegedly forced a young girl into a bathroom in his Winnipeg home, took photos of her and sexually assaulted her. A publication ban prevents naming the girl, who was eight years old at the time of the alleged offences, or publishing an information that could identify her. She testified via an hour-long interview that was recorded after the police became involved. She is seen on-camera speaking with a worker at the Toba Centre for children and youth, a non-profit  child advocacy centre. The girl described watching television at Traverse’s home when she said he threw her over his shoulder and took her to the bathroom where he allegedly took photos of her unclothed bottom half with his cellphone and the girl’s. Traverse then allegedly sexually assaulted her. “I didn’t want to look at him so I looked straight at the door,” the girl said in the video. The girl said Traverse quickly deleted the photos while the two were still in the bathroom but that a version remained archived on her phone. ‘I never told anyone,’ girl says She said Traverse blocked the bathroom door to prevent her from leaving and warned her not to tell anyone about what occurred. When she was able to leave, she said she ran away crying and wiped the tears from her face before anyone would notice. “I never told anyone. I only shut my mouth,” she said. Investigators became aware of the allegations after the girl’s mother found one of the photos on the girl’s cellphone and reported it to police. The girl, who is now 10, sat with a support worker behind a protective screen while the video statement played in court. The girl later amended a portion of her statement saying that Traverse did not throw her over his shoulder but instead grabbed her by her wrist before taking her into the bathroom. “Is it possible you took the photo yourself?” Crown attorney Boyd McGill asked the girl. “No,” she said. Version of photo sent to lawyers on Monday The photo itself became a subject of discussion later in the day. The trial was halted in the afternoon when it was learned the existence of the photo was only disclosed to lawyers on both sides earlier in the day. Court heard that police collected the photograph from the girl’s phone during the investigation, but that a partially redacted version was sent to the lawyers Monday morning. A screenshot of a portion of the metadata, including the date it was taken, was also sent. Olson asked for an adjournment in order to see if police can determine the location where the photo was taken, which was not included in the information that was sent. “It is far more important that Mr. Traverse has a fair trial than we forge ahead and deal with other consequences later,” said Olson. Traverse was first elected in July 2022 as the chief of Lake St. Martin, which is in the Interlake region, 270 kilometres north of Winnipeg. In March 2024, Lake St. Martin Elders asked Traverse to resign, but he said he would not step down. A month later, Traverse was removed from the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council (IRTC)’s board of directors and barred from Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs events.  Traverse remains the chief of Lake St. Martin First Nation, although he no longer has governance powers, Chief Cornell McLean, IRTC chair, confirmed to CBC on Monday. Acting chief Brad Beardy is currently serving as the First Nation’s interim leader. With files from the Canadian Press Continue Reading