Members of group that rallied outside Vernon, B.C., courthouse. (Facebook photo)
A judge has denied bail for a suspect charged with violence against women in B.C.’s Okanagan district.
The decision to keep Curtis Sagmoen behind bars was cheered by Indigenous activists gathered on the steps of the Vernon courthouse.
“It did have an impact,” rally organizer Jody Leon told the small but vocal group.
“At every bail hearing they heard your voices.”
Allies and advocates from Vancouver and Kamloops were in the crowd, Leon said on Facebook.
“When it comes to the next decision we’re going to be here.”
Sagmoen faces a number of charges alleging violence against women in various B.C. communities.
Evidence disclosed at the bail hearing cannot be published under a publication ban.
But not in relation to the death of Traci Genereaux, whose body RCMP discovered on a farm owned by Sagmoen’s parents outside Vernon.
Sagmoen was living in a trailer on the property prior to his arrest a year ago.
Genereaux is one of five women – two Indigenous – missing from the area.
Leon’s group has been helping families of the missing women search for clues.
APTN Investigates documented their efforts in this story.
They were also outside the courthouse for each of Sagmoen’s court appearances over the past few weeks in Vernon.
The group drummed, waved homemade banners and chanted, “No more stolen sisters” as passing motorists honked their horns.
