A four-month conditional sentence order has been handed to an individual in connection to activity at various parks and historic sites in Battleford.
Simon Houston, 65, was sentenced in North Battleford provincial court Monday afternoon after pleading guilty to three counts of not complying with a prohibition order. Houston is under a 20-year ban from attending public places where children might be present, in connection to a conviction for distributing child pornography from 2008.
The latest activity that landed Houston in trouble took place in June and July of 2017 when he attended Fort Battleford and later the Eiling Kramer campground, prompting a number of complaints.
As outlined in court, Houston’s intention had been to educate people about atrocities against Indigenous people in the area. In particular, Houston was protesting the location of the mass grave for the eight individuals hanged in Battleford during the 1885 Riel rebellion, as part of a campaign to have it relocated.
Houston distributed pamphlets and delivered letters as part of his protest, which included attending Eiling Kramer campground on July 15 on Canada Parks Day.
Judge Lorna Dyck nevertheless made it clear to Houston that he was under an order not to go to public parks where children might be present, and would be sentenced on that basis.
The conditions of the CSO include a curfew between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Houston is also under a no-contact order with respect to five individuals, and he is barred from attending Eiling Kramer campground, the Fred Light Museum or Fort Battleford.
