N.W.T. Supreme Court judge declares Noel Avadluk a dangerous offender

A Northwest Territories Supreme Court judge has ruled that repeat offender Noel Avadluk is a dangerous offender and likely to harm others if he's released from custody.

Avadluk, who's from Kugluktuk, Nunavut, has 43 convictions, including six assaults and two sexual assaults.

• Psychiatrist says Kugluktuk sex offender is borderline psychopathic

• Defence expert says Kugluktuk sex offender at 'considerable risk' to reoffend

In the Northwest Territories Supreme Court on Wednesday, Justice Karan Shaner said Avadluk has "unquestionably" demonstrated a pattern of violent behaviour over the last two decades.

Offenders who are designated dangerous offenders may be sentenced to jail indefinitely. The classification in the Criminal Code is meant to protect Canadians from violent and sexual predators.

In her decision, Shaner described a series of increasingly violent crimes, leading to his last violent sexual assault conviction in Yellowknife in 2014.

Shaner said Avadluk showed "overwhelming" indifference to his victims, and will probably hurt someone again if he's let out of custody.

She noted Avadluk is an alcoholic with mental health problems, who has been sexually abused himself.

A psychiatrist who testified for the Crown previously said that Avadluk scored 29 out of 40 on a checklist used to assess people's psychopathic tendencies, concluding that the offender has anti-social personality disorder.

His lawyers asked for a three-year jail term and then long-term supervision.

Avadluk has told the court he wants help to get better.

But Shaner said she's not convinced that will happen in three years, saying the public is safer with Avadluk behind bars.