An Indigenous man who received house arrest for sexually assaulting a sleeping woman has been given another break despite breaching his sentence conditions, twice.

Nelson Lesage was handed a two-year conditional sentence in July 2024 for assaulting a woman who was staying at his Fort Providence, N.W.T., home.

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Northwest Territories Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau noted at the time that avoiding jail was already “a huge break,” and that the sentence fell outside the usual range even after accounting for his guilty plea and personal history.

Sentencing is guided by Gladue principles, requiring judges to consider the systemic disadvantages of Indigenous offenders, including the effects of colonial policies like residential schools. The Supreme Court of Canada established these rules to address the continued over-representation of Indigenous people in prisons.

Is it time yet to dump the Gladue Principles? https://t.co/V6J601Vo9p

— Cory Morgan (@CoryBMorgan) November 19, 2025

Lesage has since violated his conditions twice. On Oct. 12, 2025, he was found “passed out” at a home in Fort Providence. Charbonneau wrote that none of the exceptions allowing him to leave his residence applied and that he was arrested on the spot. In May, he had also been seen at a house party where alcohol was present, another breach of his conditions.

Despite these violations, Charbonneau ruled on Nov. 4 that Lesage would not be sent to jail, calling the decision “highly exceptional.” She warned that any further breach would “very likely” lead to incarceration.

Court evidence revealed that the victim and her fiancé went to bed after people had been drinking at Lesage's home.

Charbonneau found that Lesage entered their room during the night and sexually assaulted the woman while she slept. She awoke on the floor with her pants and underwear pulled down. DNA testing later identified Lesage as the attacker, despite his claim that someone else was responsible.

The Crown and defence had jointly recommended the conditional sentence, including 16 months of house arrest, probation, and a ban on alcohol and drugs.

The sentencing judge accepted the proposal despite Lesage’s extensive criminal record, which includes violent offences and a 1995 sexual assault conviction. A pre-sentence report described a traumatic childhood marked by alcoholism, abuse, and family violence, including witnessing his mother kill his father.

Both lawyers also recommended that no additional penalties be imposed for his breach of conditions—a position Charbonneau described as “extremely lenient.”

The case comes as other Canadian courts continue to reduce sentences for Indigenous offenders based on Gladue principles, including recent decisions in Manitoba and Alberta involving manslaughter and child sexual assault.