N.W.T. ex-MLA not guilty of sexual assault

Henry Zoe, a former Northwest Territories MLA and cabinet minister, has been found not guilty of sexual assault.

A court judge ruled Monday that there was enough reasonable doubt to find Zoe not guilty in relation to an incident that was reported to police in March.

An 18-year-old woman alleged that Zoe had touched her inappropriately when she visited his Yellowknife apartment on Feb. 20.

The woman alleged that she and Zoe were alone at his apartment when he touched her beneath her underwear. She then claimed that when she got up to leave, he followed her to her front door, touching her again.

Zoe argued that such an incident never happened.

In the end, the judge sided with Zoe's account of events over that of his accuser.

"The Crown, in these types of situations, has a very difficult position, but we've presented our case," Crown prosecutor Danielle Vaillancourt told CBC News outside court Monday.

"These types of situations are always difficult for everyone."

Zoe did not want to comment outside court. The parents of the 18-year-old said their daughter is still suffering as a result of the incident.

It's not the first time Zoe, who served as the MLA for North Slave from 1987 to 1995 and from 2003 to 2005, has been accused of assault.

He has been convicted twice of spousal assault, including once while he was in office in the 1990s.

Zoe was also convicted in 2005 of resisting arrest, when police tried to arrest him while he was in a dispute with his wife. Zoe was forced to resign from politics after he was convicted.