Sex offender seeks stay due to conditions in remand
A 45-day hearing to determine the fate of a man with a long history of violent and sexual offences began Monday with an adjournment.
Lance David Blanchard, 59, was found guilty in December of dragging a 27-year-old woman into his apartment and sexually assaulting her at knifepoint, before stabbing her in the hand as she defended herself.
Crown prosecutor Patricia Innes is seeking to have Blanchard declared a dangerous offender — a designation that means an indeterminate sentence may be imposed, placing him under some form of correctional supervision for the rest of his life.
However, before hearing that application, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Eric Macklin will hear arguments from Blanchard’s defence lawyer, Tom Engel, for a stay of proceedings or a sentence reduction.
Engel plans to present evidence about the way Blanchard has been treated while being held at the Edmonton Remand Centre. Blanchard and nine other inmates are expected to give evidence about poor living conditions in the facility.
Blanchard has been in custody since being arrested for the assault on the woman in 2014.
Engel filed a second stay application in March, citing the Supreme Court’s Jordan decision, arguing there have been unreasonable delays in the court proceedings. The Jordan decision set limits on wait times for trials: 18 months for provincial court, and 30 months for Queen’s Bench matters.
Blanchard’s criminal record dates back to 1975, when he was convicted of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled child.
While out on mandatory supervision in 1978, Blanchard forced a 13-year-old girl into a vehicle at knifepoint, threatening to rape her, but released her unharmed.
That same year, Blanchard took a prison guard hostage with a homemade weapon, and assaulted another guard.
He beat a fellow inmate to death while being held in a special handling unit in Quebec in 1983, and was handed an 18-year sentence for manslaughter. He served a total of 34 years for the homicide conviction and other sexual assault and violence charges in a maximum security unit in the Saskatchewan Penitentiary.
When Blanchard was released in 2013, Edmonton police issued a public warning that he would be moving downtown, and said they believed he posed a “significant risk of harm” to the community.
The woman, who was homeless at the time of the attack, was sleeping in a stairwell in Blanchard’s building when he dragged her into his apartment.