Victims’ advocate urges better vetting for condo managers
Condo complex managers should be forced to do criminal background checks on employees with access to tenants’ suites, says a sexual crime victims’ advocate.
Those comments follow the arrest of a custodian of a southeast apartment complex who allegedly used work keys to gain access to a woman’s residence last weekend.
The woman scared off the man. The suspect charged in the case was previously convicted of a 2007 sexual assault.
That’s outrageous, said Danielle Aubry, executive director of Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse. “I’m shocked. I’m surprised there isn’t something in law,” said Aubry. “With the province looking at changing their labour legislation, maybe they should look at something around this piece.”
She said criminal background checks are standard operating procedure in the hiring of staff and volunteers at her agency.
“It’s not a difficult process ... common sense would tell you if you have someone in a job who has access to peoples’ apartments, you need to do some kind of security check.”
Regarding last weekend’s incident, police say the custodian is Philip Allan Skulnec, 38, who was convicted of forcing a female European student into her apartment with a machete and sexually assaulting her repeatedly with a rum bottle during a 5½-hour ordeal.
An official at the complex in the 9900 block of Fairmount Dr. S.E. where the latest incident occurred didn’t return calls Thursday but has said Skulnec’s been fired from his job and that the management company wasn’t aware of his criminal background.
Many building managers do make background checks, though it’s not legally required, said Gerry Baxter, executive director of the Calgary Residential Rental Association.
“Most landlords will do that, though there’s no law that mandates it,” he said. “The owners of a property have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their tenants.”
Ex-city police officer Baxter said the incident is the first of its kind he’s heard of in Calgary. He said failing to do a proper vetting could lead to liability issues for property managers. “It’s certainly a good business practice; it’s in their interests,” said Baxter.
City police said they also recommend property owners do background checks when hiring for those positions.
Those convicted of sex crimes are entered into the National Sex Offender Registry, which is maintained by the RCMP but not open to public view.
But criminal background checks are readily done on request by Mounties and local police services.
There is nothing unconstitutional about making such checks mandatory for employers responsible for the security of tenants, said Sharon Polsky of the Rocky Mountain Civil Liberties Association.
“All kinds of employers, including the federal government insist on doing them, so if it was a constitutional problem, they’d be clever enough not to require it,” said Polsky. But she said criminal background checks shouldn’t be considered a panacea.