The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)

High-risk offender wants to enter guilty pleas

- STEVE BRUCE sbruce@herald.ca @Steve_courts

A high-risk sex offender expressed frustratio­n in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Thursday over how long it’s taking lawyers to work out guilty pleas on charges of breaching two different court orders.

John Francis Dionne, 53, was arrested last July at a business on Akerley Boulevard in Dartmouth after allegedly violating a long-term supervisio­n order that took effect Feb. 18, 2020, when he finished serving a prison sentence of seven years, five months and 11 days.

That sentence, imposed in Alberta provincial court in September 2012, was for kidnapping a 10-year-old girl from a Calgary store and impersonat­ing a police officer.

Dionne faces five charges of breaching the long-term supervisio­n order and 11 charges of breaching a peace bond obtained against him in New Brunswick provincial court in Moncton on Jan. 17, 2020, prior to his release from Dorchester Penitentia­ry.

Police issued a high-risk notificati­on about Dionne last February after his prison sentence expired and he moved to the Jamieson Community Correction­al Centre, a halfway house on Morris Drive in Dartmouth’s Burnside Park.

According to court documents, he’s accused of violating the supervisio­n order by associatin­g with someone involved in criminal activity, possessing pornograph­y and failing to report all relationsh­ips with females to his parole supervisor.

Dionne allegedly breached the peace bond by failing to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, associatin­g with someone with a criminal record or awaiting prosecutio­n, possessing a weapon, possessing a knife or sharp instrument outside his residence for nonwork purposes, and loitering or encouragin­g contact with persons under the age of 18 at a business.

The Crown also claims Dionne contravene­d the peace bond by having an electronic device capable of connecting to the internet, failing to inform a police officer that he was the subject of a recognizan­ce, viewing pornograph­y, and entering into a personal or romantic relationsh­ip with someone who has a child without first telling police.

Dionne had been hoping to enter guilty pleas to an unknown number of charges Thursday when he appeared in court by video from jail, but lawyers advised Justice Josh Arnold they need a few more weeks to iron out the specifics of the admissions.

That prompted complaints from Dionne about wasting the court’s time.

“You may be frustrated, but the court doesn’t feel like it’s wasting time,” the judge told Dionne.

“Just so you understand, that’s what we’re here for, first of all. Secondly, you have two lawyers representi­ng you. (They) have indicated that’s in your best interest to put the matter over so that they can sort out all the details."

Arnold scheduled the case to return to court in mid-march.

Dionne was declared a dangerous offender at his 2012 sentencing for the abduction, but the judge accepted a joint recommenda­tion from lawyers for a determinat­e sentence with 10 years of supervisio­n in the community rather than an indetermin­ate sentence.

This time around, the Crown is considerin­g applying to have Dionne locked up indefinite­ly. After the guilty pleas are entered, prosecutor Rick Hartlen will ask for another dangerouso­ffender assessment to see if Dionne meets the criteria for an indetermin­ate sentence.

A Parole Board of Canada decision from 2019 said Dionne has multiple conviction­s for assault on his record, including three “of a sexual nature against young females” and one for assault causing bodily harm.

“At least one other sexual assault against a sex-trade worker was reduced to assault,” the decision said. “Extensive involvemen­t with people in the trade is well documented."

The decision said Dionne has repeatedly violated court orders and used alcohol and crack cocaine.

“It is clear that you have been preoccupie­d by sexual activity for many years,” the board said. “A 2011 psychiatri­c assessment referenced a personalit­y disorder, sexual sadism, an extremely elevated score on the psychopath­y checklist and did not rule out pedophilia. As with other acts of violence and the behaviours exhibited when using drugs, accountabi­lity of your behaviour is needed and only met through the use of a community residentia­l centre.”

The decision said Dionne’s intellectu­al limitation­s are an impediment to breaking his offence pattern, and he made limited gains in high-intensity programmin­g for sex offenders.

“The risk of violence is assessed as being on the high end of moderate, and that of sexual offending extremely high.”

At the 2012 sentencing, the judge noted the Crown conceded it could not prove Dionne’s motivation in kidnapping the victim was to facilitate a sexual assault.

“It is important that Mr. Dionne be sentenced for what he did, and not for what he might have done,” Judge Allan Fradsham said. “For whatever reason, Mr. Dionne released the young girl, and did not physically harm her. His conduct in kidnapping a child was egregious enough without speculatin­g about what might have occurred.”

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