The welcome sign to Keeseekoose First Nation in Saskatchewan. Photo: APTN File
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Historical sex charges have been put on hold against a prominent residential school survivor in Saskatchewan, APTN News has learned.
It happened Monday in Yorkton provincial court after a request for a stay of proceedings from the Crown attorney.
Public Prosecutions in Saskatchewan confirmed that criminal charges that involve a minor were stayed against Theodore (Ted) Quewezance, who pleaded not guilty.
That means the prosecution can resume under certain conditions within 12 months, the department said in an email to APTN News.
Quewezance, who is in his 70s, is a high-profile reconciliation spokesperson and long-time leader at the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan.
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Former chief in Saskatchewan charged with historical sex offences
He was removed as a member of the Survivors Circle at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation when his charges became known.
RCMP in Kamsack, Sask., charged him in August 2023 with sexual assault, touching a young person under the age of 16 for a sexual purpose, counselling a person under 16 to touch for a sexual purpose, and being in a position of trust while counselling a person under 16 years to touch for a sexual purpose.
The offences are alleged to have occurred between September 1997 and September 2004 in Keeseekoose First Nation, a Saulteaux community 285 kilometres northeast of Regina, where Quewezance was once chief.
