The trial of a Canadian Armed Forces reservist accused of multiple sexual assault and child exploitation charges commenced in a Yellowknife courtroom on Tuesday. Craig Scott Routery, 62, a former warrant officer with the 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group in Yellowknife, pleaded not guilty to all charges on the first day of the four-day judge-alone trial.
Routery was apprehended on July 8, 2024, during a youth training session in Whitehorse, following an investigation by the RCMP Internet Child Exploitation unit into allegations of online communication and illicit sexual activities with a minor in the N.W.T. He faces nine charges, including sexual assault, child luring, providing sexually explicit material to a child, and possession of child pornography.
During the trial, it was revealed that RCMP investigators searched Routery’s residence post-arrest and confiscated a laptop and various electronic storage devices containing child pornography. The Crown submitted two binders containing chat logs, text messages, and digital images as evidence.
The court heard testimony from the complainant, a minor residing in Yellowknife at the time of the alleged offenses, on the first day. The complainant disclosed that online communication with another user began on an adult networking site in late 2022 or early 2023 when he was 15 years old. The complainant testified that after revealing his actual age, the other user showed increased interest and suggested a face-to-face meeting, which allegedly led to a sexual encounter in a vehicle parked at a Yellowknife school.
The complainant identified the individual in the vehicle as the operator of the online profile, registered with an email address linked to Routery. However, due to the absence of facial photos on the profile, the complainant could not definitively confirm Routery as the person in the vehicle during his court testimony.
The trial will resume on Wednesday, with the defense expected to cross-examine the complainant.
