Former N.W.T. MLA faces sexual assault charge

A former N.W.T. cabinet minister, Henry Zoe, has been charged with sexual assault, Yellowknife RCMP said Monday.

Zoewas charged after police received a complaint in mid-March, said Const. Kathy Law.

The alleged sexual assault reportedly happened in February at adowntown Yellowknife apartment, said Law.

Zoe was first elected to the territorial legislature in 1987 as the MLA for the North Slave riding. He held the seat until 1995 but then did not run for re-election.

He was elected again in 2003 andgiven the municipal affairs and community development portfolio, but hewas forced to resignfrom politics in 2005 after he wasconvicted of resisting arrest. He had also been in trouble for making derogatory remarks about Newfoundlanders.

Zoe tried unsuccessfully to stage a political comeback in 2007 in his old riding, now known as Monfwi, which includes a huge area north of Yellowknife, including Behchoko.

He is scheduled to appear in a Yellowknife court on May 5.