‘This is a public safety issue,’ Crown says
Convicted sex offender Matthew Twyne sentenced to 18-month jail term for exposing himself to walkers on Long Pond trail
Convicted sex offender Matthew Twyne has been sentenced to 18 months in jail, after he admitted he had exposed himself to walkers along the Long Pond trail in October.
Twyne — just three days out of jail at the time, having completed a federal sentence — was arrested at the head of Long Pond, which is located on Memorial University’s campus in St. John’s, Oct. 11.
Two RNC officers responded to a call of an indecent act in progress around lunchtime that day. They were informed by a maintenance worker from the university that two women had asked him to call police, saying there was a man near the duck pond, at the head of the trail, with his pants down and his penis exposed. Police located Twyne, 33, in that area.
Though he denied having had his pants down, Twyne gave the officers a copy of his court orders, which included that he stay away from MUN campus. He was charged with the breach and taken into custody.
Police later charged Twyne with committing an indecent act after the two women came forward and provided statements, saying they had been walking around the pond together on their lunch break when they saw a man with his genitals exposed. Both women gave a description that matched that of Twyne, down to the clothes he had been wearing when he was arrested.
Twyne, who has 93 prior convictions, including six for indecent acts, has been deemed by police and the parole board to be at a significant risk to reoffend. He completed a federal jail term early in October, but with concerns that he would commit another sexual offence, the Crown successfully argued for an order forcing him to abide by a list of conditions upon his release on Oct. 8. Those 29 conditions included that he stay away from a handful of places in the St. John’s area, including MUN, and that he have no contact with children.
“This is a public safety issue,” prosecutor Jennifer Lundrigan told the court Monday morning at Twyne’s sentencing hearing, stressing concern over the short period of time between Twyne’s release and his new offence. “This signifies that he is unwilling or unable to abide by court orders.”
Lundrigan presented Twyne’s criminal record to Judge Colin Flynn, pointing out the only time gaps in it were periods when he was in jail.
“The Crown would submit that Mr. Twyne is an extremely poor candidate for rehabilitation, and rehabilitation at this point may well be impossible.
“The best way for us to keep the public safe is for him to be incarcerated.”
Defence lawyer Tim O’brien noted Twyne’s quick guilty pleas to the indecent act and court order breaches, and said though the two women had expressed concerns about a school bus full of children in the Long Pond area at the time, there was no evidence to suggest that was accurate.
Flynn sentenced Twyne to 18 months in custody. With enhanced credit given for the time he has spent on remand, he has a little over a year and two months left to serve behind bars.
“There’s a pattern here, and there are issues here beyond what this court can deal with; some psychological issues that need to be addressed but can’t be addressed by this court,” the judge said. “I have to deal with the offences. Deterrence and protection of the public is the primary concern.”
After he serves his jail term, Twyne will serve a three-year period of probation. He’s also been named to the national sex offender registry for life.
Twyne’s previously-ordered conditions remain in effect, though it was unclear whether their duration will be postpone during his current jail term.