Sexual assault trial for Lake St. Martin First Nation chief begins in Winnipeg

Lake St. Martin First Nation Chief Christopher Traverse walks through the lobby of the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa on October 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

WINNIPEG — The chief of a Manitoba First Nation allegedly forced a young girl into a bathroom in his Winnipeg home, took photos of her and sexually assaulted her, court heard on the first day of the man's trial.

Christopher Traverse, who was the leader of Lake St. Martin First Nation at the time of his arrest last year, has been charged with sexual assault, sexual interference and child pornography stemming from the incident, which allegedly occurred in December 2023.

Traverse has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A publication ban is in effect that restricts naming the girl or any other details that may identify her.

The complainant, who was eight years old at the time of the alleged offences, provided testimony in provincial court on Monday in the form of an hour-long video that was recorded after police became involved.

In it, the girl is speaking with a worker at the Toba Centre for Children and Youth, a non-profit child advocacy centre.

The girl describes watching television at Traverse's home when she said he threw her over his shoulder and took her to the bathroom where he took photos of her unclothed bottom half with his cellphone and the girl's. Traverse then proceeded to sexually assault her, the girl said.

"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.

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.

Traverse was charged last February and has been out on bail since his arrest.

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.

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.

Candace Olson, Traverse's lawyer, 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.

The Southern Chiefs' Organization, which represents 32 communities in southern Manitoba, lists councillor Brad Beardy as acting chief for Lake St. Martin.

The trial is scheduled for two days.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2025.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press