High Prairie man charged with sexual assault, exploitation in Yellowknife

Jun 17, 2021 | 5:03 PM

A High Prairie man has been charged in connection with what police call ” a historical investigation” of sexual assault and exploitation in the Northwest Territories.

Yellowknife RCMP say this is connected to an incident that happened in the summer of 2009 during tryouts for the 2010 Arctic Winter Games.

Neil Barry was arrested in High Prairie on Tuesday, June 15 and is facing two counts each of sexual assault and sexual exploitation. He is due in Territorial Court August 10.

A release from Yellowknife RCMP says Barry worked in the Northwest Territories from 2007 to 2017

He moved to High Prairie in 2017 and had worked for the High Prairie School Division.

“As with any investigation of this nature, the RCMP are sensitive to how difficult it can be for a victim to report an abuser, whether it is immediately after an offence occurred or a length of time has passed,” add Yellowknife RCMP in a release.

They add ‘If you, or someone you know, have any information related to these offences or potentially others, please report it to your local RCMP.”

by Curtis Galbraith