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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Sexual sadist goes back behind bars

His online activities worrisome

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 10/10/2012 1:00 AM

He is a high-risk sexual sadist who killed his elderly grandmother and has openly talked of fulfilling more homicidal fantasies.

Now Manitoba justice officials believe the mentally troubled young man may have been preparing another attack just months after his return to society and while he was claiming to be on the road to rehabilitation.

New details about the case emerged in a Winnipeg courtroom Tuesday. The man, who can't be named because he was just 14 at the time of the June 2004 slaying, admitted to stabbing and defiling his 79-year-old grandmother as part of a sexually motivated attack driven by an addiction to online pornography. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in December 2005 and was given a maximum youth sentence of six years in custody in addition to time already served, followed by four years of community supervision.

Now 22, the man pleaded guilty Tuesday to breaching conditions of his community supervision and has been ordered to serve the remainder of his sentence in prison. That ruling is expected to keep him behind bars until December 2015.

"I have grave concerns about society at this point," provincial court Judge Patti Umpherville said Tuesday after hearing the latest developments in the case, which prompted her to take the rare step of revoking the entire duration of his release. She called the young man "extremely emotionally damaged," citing probation reports in which he speaks of "gaining satisfaction from hurting people."

Defence lawyer Lisa LaBossiere had asked for just a six-month penalty, not the more than three years the Crown was seeking. Her client returned to the community in December 2011 to mixed results, including two allegations of curfew breaches probation officials overlooked. The situation appeared much brighter when he appeared in court in mid-August seeking relaxed conditions on his community release that would allow him access to computers. He claimed to have enrolled in university and said he needed to get online to facilitate his studies.

LaBossiere argued at the time that computer access would assist in the young man's rehabilitation and help him achieve a "pro-social lifestyle."

The Crown was opposed, saying computer use was a "red flag," given the man's history. The hearing was adjourned for Umpherville to consider her decision.

On the same day he appeared in court, probation officials were searching his home as part of existing supervision conditions. They discovered a BlackBerry smartphone he'd secretly obtained and stashed and a disturbing online history.

Prosecutor Brent Davidson told court Tuesday the man had been viewing violent online pornography and dating sites on which he was seeking someone to participate in acts of bondage and sadomasochism. Davidson had warned the court in August that allowing the man to get online might open the door to another tragedy by allowing him to "isolate" himself from society and begin another dark descent."

On Tuesday, Davidson said it's clear that downward spiral was already well underway at the time of his last court appearance.

"I don't know if he's now at a heightened state or he's always been at a heightened state and pulled the proverbial wool over everyone's eyes," Umpherville said.

The man was previously caught hiding explicit pornography in his cell at the Agassiz Youth Centre in 2007 and 2009. He secretly downloaded it while taking online education courses at the Manitoba Youth Centre.

He had also been warned repeatedly about masturbating in full view of female staff and has discussed revenge rape attacks on several women he believes have wronged him, court was told.

www.mikeoncrime.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 10, 2012 A4