Chief Wallace Fox has pleaded guilty to one charge of assault.
Fox, who appeared with his lawyer, Robert Hladun, in Saskatchewan-side court in Lloydminster today, was previously charged in 2015 with two counts of assault, one count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose related to the use of a knife, and one count of uttering threats to damage property.
A trial had been set to proceed on October 4 to try Fox’s charges. However, that court date was cancelled after the matter was resolved out of court. Instead, the matter was brought forward on October 3, during the regular session of Saskatchewan provincial court, and a date of October 20 was set down for sentencing.
During Thursday’s appearance, a joint submission from both the Crown and Fox’s defense indicated that Fox should be sentenced for one charge of assault, for which the guilty plea was entered. The submission was accepted by Judge Kim Young.
According to a statement of fact read out in the courtroom, the assault charge stemmed from an incident in February of 2015 that took place between Fox and his former common-law spouse, Vicki Monague. The statement indicated that Monague had suspected Fox of cheating, and confronted him about the matter on the porch of his home, in which she also lived with her three children.
During the confrontation, Fox shoved Monague off the porch, and locked the door of his home, with Monague’s three children still inside.
The other three charges which Fox had been charged with were dismissed.
Prior to the sentence being laid down, Judge Kim Young asked the Crown and defense if there was any issue with him being the judge to carry out the task.
“Not only must justice be done, but justice must (be) seen to be done,” said Glen Jacques, the Senior Crown Prosecutor who was handling the matter during the court session.
“Judge Young has been on this circuit for many, many years, and he knows many, many people. He was merely asking of Crown and defense whether either Crown or defense would have an issue with him hearing this matter and sentencing Mr.Fox, because of course Mr.Fox has a certain visibility and the judge indicated that he was aware of who he was. Neither Crown nor defense took issue with Judge Young hearing the matter, and sentencing.”
Fox was sentenced to 12 months of probation. He will also be required to keep the peace, be of good behavior, report to court when required to do so, and report to a probation officer within two working days and afterwards as directed. A provision for anger management and domestic violence counseling was also included, as directed by Fox’s probation officer.
According to the Crown, Monague declined to provide a victim impact statement to the court. Fox and his lawyer did not speak to the press as they left the court building.