Convicted sex offender pleads guilty to failing to comply with court order

A convicted sex offender who had been living in a tent in Fort Erie and failed to comply with conditions of the national sex offender registry will learn his fate in the new year.

The 55-year-old-man pleaded guilty Tuesday in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines to a charge of failing to comply with conditions of the Sexual Offender Information Registry Act.

The Niagara Falls native who grew up in Fort Erie was sentenced to 45 months behind bars in 2010 on two sex offences involving children.

In addition to the jail term, the offender was ordered to comply with SOIRA requirements for 20 years.

As a convicted sex offender, he was bound by several conditions including that he check in with law enforcement once a year and that he notify police of any change of address.

Court heard the defendant, who cannot be identified, had previously been living in a trailer in rural Niagara Falls.

When he failed to report to police as expected in October 2019, police began searching for him.

The defendant turned himself in to police later that month. Court heard he had been living in a tent in a bushy area in Fort Erie at the time.

Defence lawyer Gurinder Gill told the judge his client has had “three or four opportunities to get his life back on track while remaining compliant with reporting obligations.”

“He was terminated shortly after reporting, each and every time,” the lawyer said.

“It’s been very unclear if he has been stigmatized by his criminal convictions, or his obligations under SOIRA.”

Gill asked Judge Donald Wolfe to impose a suspended sentence in the case.

The Crown argued a jail term was a more appropriate penalty.

“Even if he is homeless, he is still required to notify police of where he is staying and in what region,” said assistant Crown attorney Stephanie Ford.

“(SOIRA) orders are something that are imposed only in serious sexual offences and they serve a very important purpose which is to protect the community and keep track of identified offenders to ensure the public is kept safe from a potential risk of recidivism.”

The judge ordered a presentence report be prepared prior to sentencing and adjourned the matter until January.

In an unrelated matter, a convicted sex offender who moved to Niagara Falls, despite having outstanding warrants for his arrest in Alberta and British Columbia, pleading guilty earlier this month to the same offence.

In that case, the 37-year-old man received a suspended sentence based on the time he had spent in pretrial custody.