Sask. 'medicine man' asks to change guilty plea in sexual assault case
A Saskatchewan elder who claims to be a traditional Indigenous healer is trying to change his guilty plea to 12 charges of sexual assault.
Cecil Wolfe, 61, has applied to the courts to change his plea.
Wolfe was employed by the Saskatoon Tribal Council and White Buffalo Youth Lodge to perform traditional Indigenous ceremonies, and the 12 female victims in the case were Wolfe’s patients.
The women sought treatment for a range of health issues including stomach problems, infertility and cancer.
During their sessions, the women said Wolfe told them to wear skirts. He advised them they had bad medicine inside of them and he had to take it out, according to an agreed-upon statement of facts.
Wolfe originally pleaded guilty to the 12 sexual assault charges for crimes taking place from 2013 to 2021. Now a case management session on January 23 at Saskatchewan Provincial Court will determine the expungement application.
If the application is successful and the plea is changed to not guilty, Wolfe’s case would go to trial.
With files from Laura Woodward
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