The band council of the Pheasant Rump First Nation in southeast Saskatchewan has accepted the chief’s resignation and is now attempting to re-negotiate a $47,000 severance package for Terrance McArthur, saying the small first nation can not afford it.
He was sentenced to nine months in jail last Wednesday after pleading guilty to the sexual assault of a teenaged girl.
His resignation was submitted July 30th, but details were not released until today.
Band councillor, Gaylene McArthur, says they held off on the announcement on the advice of their legal counsel.
She says it is now time to move forward.
“Well we have been weathering the storm so far and we hope this decision the band can move on and we can continue with our programs and hopefully the people will heal.”
No date for the by-election has been set, but it could happen in a matter of weeks or months.
Meantime McArthur’s lawyer has filed an appeal of the sentence.
The jail-term came as somewhat of a surprise because both the prosecution and defense proposed a one year conditional sentence to be served in the community, however the judge rejected that saying a jail term was necessary.
McArthur’s lawyer, is asking a higher court to release his client pending the outcome of the appeal.
No date for a hearing has been set.
In the meantime, Terrance McArthur remains behind bars.
