Alexander First Nation Chief Kurt Burnstick was found not guilty Friday on two counts of sexual assault and one count of break and enter to commit an indictable offence.
The charges date back to 1985 and involved a female summer student working on a community newsletter on the band’s reserve, 40 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
She can’t be named because of a publication ban.
Earlier this week, Burnstick testified before Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in Edmonton that he believed the sexual encounters were consensual when they occurred. Burnstick was 19 at the time, the summer student was 15.
More to come.