NorthNeil Barry, a former teacher, was sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting two students.Neil Barry taught in the N.W.T. between 2007 and 2017Tamara Merritt · CBC News · Posted: Sep 11, 2025 9:14 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoNeil Barry outside the Yellowknife courthouse in April. Barry was sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting two of his students. (Nadeer Hashmi/CBC)A former N.W.T. teacher and coach will serve nine years for sexually assaulting and exploiting two of his students. Neil Barry was sentenced at the N.W.T. Supreme Court in Yellowknife on Wednesday.A jury found him guilty in May of two counts each of sexual assault and sexual exploitation for incidents that had happened about 15 years ago. Barry taught in N.W.T. communities between 2007 and 2017.During the trial, the court heard from the victims, who at the time of the assaults were between 15 to 18 years old. They said Barry had masturbated in front of them, touched them inappropriately and played a card game with them that required players to strip to their underwear. One complainant also said that Barry had performed oral sex on him without his consent. Last week in court, the Crown and defence submitted their recommendations for the length of Barry’s sentence.The Crown requested eleven years and the defence asked for four or five years. In the sentencing, Justice David Gates said many factors led to his ultimate decision — one of them being the “profound lifelong harm” to the victims. In a victim impact statement during the trial, one complainant had described how the assaults made it difficult to trust people and that he turned to alcohol to cope. In the sentencing, Gates also described Barry’s actions as “calculated” and “deliberate.”He said Barry’s behaviour indicated he had orchestrated scenarios that allowed him to be alone with the victims while they were sleeping, giving him the opportunity to carry out the sexual acts he was convicted of. Gates said as the boys’ coach, Barry “took advantage of a position of trust” and that the boys were “entitled to feel safe.” Gates said a breach in trust didn’t only apply to the victims, but also to the community and parents who had entrusted their boys into Barry’s care. He said the sexual assault of the two victims, who are both Indigenous, is a reminder of the broader historical context in Canada, namely residential schools. He said Indigenous children had been “entrusted to white teachers only to be betrayed” and that the facts of this case “tragically echo that history.”Gates said he also took into consideration that Barry had no previous criminal record and that he had received eight letters in support from family, past students and friends. Yet, Gates said, due to the nature of the crime, the letters of support were given limited consideration. Other factors in Barry’s sentence included the age of the boys and Barry’s risk to re-offend. Gates said no evidence had been provided to the court indicating Barry wouldn’t reoffend after release. He said because of this, he was inclined to believe that some risk of reoffending did exist.After being invited by Gates to speak on the matter, Barry responded by saying that he had been released on bail for four and a half years and hadn’t had any more run-ins with the law. After delivering the sentence, Gates told Barry that he hopes he will use the time in prison to “reflect on [his] behaviour.” The court has recommended Barry serve out his sentence at the Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick, close to where Barry’s family lives.
Former N.W.T. teacher sentenced to 9 years for sexually assaulting, exploiting two teenagers
