The trial of a former teacher and basketball coach in the NWT is now underway.

Neil Barry, who worked in the NWT between 2007 and 2017, is facing three counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual exploitation. He pleaded not guilty to all six charges when the indictments were read at the Explorer Hotel on Tuesday. The charges stem from alleged incidents during the summer of 2009 at tryouts for the 2010 Arctic Winter Games.

Jury selection took place at the hotel with 12 jurors and two alternates selected by early afternoon Tuesday. The trial began Wednesday morning in NWT Supreme Court at the Yellowknife Courthouse.

Barry was first charged in June 2021 in High Prairie, Alta., where he had been working with the community's school district after leaving the NWT in 2017. He missed a court date in August 2021, which prompted a bench warrant for his arrest.

Someone claiming to be Barry commented on a previous story involving Barry on the SA国际影视传媒 website, indicating that there was a miscommunication between the lawyers representing him in Alberta and in the Northwest Territories, resulting in no one appearing in NWT court on his behalf in Yellowknife during a past court date.

The trial is expected to last for 13 days.