Convicted sex offender jailed in Alberta expected to take residence in Winnipeg

Police are warning the public that a man who was jailed after a violent sexual assault is expected to live in Winnipeg after he was released Monday.

James Joseph O’Kane, 35, is considered at high risk to reoffend, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a press release Tuesday.

In October 2016, O’Kane attacked a woman, dragged her into an alley, and sexually assaulted her. He choked and threatened to kill the woman, who was a stranger to him, and he was armed with a knife. He was charged with a number of offences, including sexual assault causing bodily harm and forcible confinement, and was convicted on May 31, 2021. He was sentenced to five years and 322 days, after spending over 13 months in custody before his sentencing.

He was released from the Bowden Institution in Alberta on Monday. He is subject to the conditions of his parole and a lifetime weapons ban. Despite receiving treatment programming while incarcerated, he is considered at high risk of reoffending in a sexual manner against adult women.

O’Kane is described as Indigenous, six feet tall and 266 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a tattoo on his right forearm that says “LIFE.”