A provincial judge in Saskatchewan has allowed a Cree self-styled medicine man, Cecil Wolfe, to rescind his 12 guilty pleas in a sexual assault case. He had admitted to charges related to his practice of having women come to him wearing a skirt, sometimes removing their bras, stroking their bodies and digitally penetrating them. After the assaults, he would produce trinkets, ribbons, etc., that he said were "bad medicine" he had removed from their genitals. The judge allowed him to rescind his guilty plea based on his argument that Wolfe's lawyer had not properly explained the consequences of his guilty plea, which included a sentence of nine and one-half years. Wolfe will re-appear in court on September 25, 2023.
Compiled from: Dan Zakreski, "Saskatoon judge erases Cree medicine man's guillty pleas in sexual assault case", CBC, September 13, 2023