A Pelly Crossing man may find himself in a federal penitentiary after his 10th alcohol-related conviction.

Robert Richard Blanchard was in Yukon Supreme Court on Monday afternoon facing charges related to a drinking and driving incident that occurred in the fall of 2003 where he bumped a girl off her bike on the Pelly River bridge.

Blanchard has 10 previous alcohol-related convictions. However, he is asking for a curative discharge that would essentially put him under house arrest.

The 41-year-old has been sober for six months the longest period of sobriety he's faced since he was a young man.

To get his curative discharge approved by medical experts, Blanchard will have needed to have been sober for six additional months.

The accused will be sentenced on Friday by Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale.

Blanchard was in court last week facing different-alcohol related charges that involved his trying to lead an eight-year-old girl away by hand.

He received a 45-day jail sentence for the offence.

But since Blanchard already served that time while he was waiting for a number of matters to be dealt with by the courts, he did not have to do any additional time for that crime.

Offenders always get credit for time served at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre before their matters go to court.

Last June, Blanchard entered a downtown Whitehorse laundromat and tried to take a little girl by the hand while the mother was in the bathroom.

When the mother later tried to intervene, Blanchard kissed her on the mouth, Whitehorse RCMP told the Star last year.

Blanchard then made his way over to the Yukon Inn, across Fourth Avenue from the laundromat, and began bothering people.

The RCMP were called and Blanchard was arrested at the nearby Petro Canada station.

He was charged with assault on the mother, forcible seizure of the little girl, causing a disturbance in public and failing to abstain from alcohol.

Blanchard, who lives in Pelly Crossing, was in Whitehorse last summer to have an abscessed tooth looked at.

His lawyer, Elaine Cairns, said the combination of alcohol and the T3 pain killers he was on 'blurred his memory.'

Blanchard said he thought he knew the girl and just wanted to give her some candy.

'He's aware that he frightened her,' said Cairns.

The assault and forcible seizure charges were dropped.

Since the incident, Blanchard has been pursuing counselling for his alcohol addiction. He has also been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings regularly.