Sex offender hid in school washroom, grabbed student: police

Police say a convicted sex offender hid in a school washroom before grabbing a child who broke free and ran away Thursday afternoon.

The Winnipeg Police Service did not name the school in a news release Friday, but parents said it was Darwin School. Officers were sent there at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

“When a student exited an adjacent stall, the man grabbed hold of the child. The child fought and managed to break free from the suspect, ran and told a teacher,” the WPS said in the release.

The child did not require medical treatment, police said.

A witness followed the stranger, who went inside St. Vital Centre. Officers, with the help of mall security, arrested a man in the parking lot.

Scott William George, 28, has been charged with assault, forcible confinement and two counts of failing to comply with a prohibition regarding children. He was detained in custody.

George has been a registered sex offender since he pleaded guilty to sexual interference in 2023. The crime, which involved sexually touching a child under the age of 16, happened in July 2022, court records show.

George was given a two-year jail sentence and ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years. He was also barred from going to places where children are likely to be, such as public parks and swimming pools.

His record, which dates back to 2015, also includes court order breaches, break-and-enters, weapons offences and property crimes.

Police held a news conference on the incident Friday afternoon.

The school was placed under a “hold and secure” after staff members learned an unknown person had entered the school, Principal Erin Enns wrote in a letter to parents.

“There is no further threat to the community concerning this individual at this time,” Enns wrote in the letter, which was provided to the Free Press by a spokesperson for the Louis Riel School Division.

“Often, when this sort of event occurs, students have questions and want to talk about what happened. I am sharing this information so that everyone in our community receives accurate information.”

Darwin School has made a team of administrators, students services teachers and clinical staff available to provide support to students and staff. It also sent a second letter to families with advice on how to discuss the incident with their children.

The school teaches 228 children from kindergarten to Grade 8, the LRSD’s annual school building review dashboard states.

More to come.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca