APTN National News
A First Nation woman who was the victim of a brutal attack in northern Saskatchewan says she doesn’t want to be just another statistic, according to a local report.
The family of Marlene Bird says she has asked a Prince Albert court to lift a ban on publishing her name in the media. The court has agreed, the Prince Albert Daily Herald reported Tuesday.
The Herald is reporting that a letter was read aloud in court from Bird. In it, she says she consents to media using her name.
“We just didn’t want just a faceless nameless person as usual in these cases, we just didn’t want this horrendous crime to be forgotten.”
Normally in cases involving sexual assault, a judge will automatically impose a ban on publishing the name of the alleged victim. But Bird’s aunt Lorna Thiessen told the Daily Herald that it’s important the story gets out.
“We wanted all the information out through the media so we could follow through with all the fundraising and Marlene’s story to be told.”
Leslie Ivan Roderick Black, 29, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault in connection with the brutal attack on Bird, 47, who was left for dead in the parking lot and is now recovering in an Edmonton hospital.
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