CATCH AND RELEASE: Kamloops judge fed up with bail breaches

A man facing multiple sexual assault charges against the mother of his child is finally being kept in custody after more than two years of bail conditions. His alleged breaches came in the form of contact with the victim multiple times and he delayed his own trial in a series of events that first landed in the courts in early 2021. A BC Supreme Court judge finally denied his attempt to be released a tenth time, calling his promise to abide by new conditions "hollow." "The accused has been given every opportunity, for three years, to comply with release conditions and to attend court when required by law," Justice Sheri Ann Donegan said in a recently published decision from April. So-called catch-and-release bail policies have led to pressure on the provincial government and outcry over prolific offenders allowed to return to the public, only to offend again. In one Kelowna example, the province was criticized for allowing a violent offender and convicted killer out on bail, where he offended again while out. Vancouver-Capilano MLA Karin Kirkpatrick called it a "catch-and-release horror story." https://infotel.ca/newsitem/catch-and-release-horror-story-ndp-criticize-bc-government-after-kelowna-killer-makes-bail/it94812 Then-Attorney General Murray Rankin said the province is feeling the "unintended consequences" of 2019 bail reforms. Just weeks later a Burnaby police officer was killed while attending a camp in the city. The man who allegedly killed her was on bail and wanted for failing to appear in court at the time. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/shaelyn-yang-rcmp-suspect-charged-1.6621904 The province has since introduced new measures for prosecutors and police to manage prolific offenders, but there's no new bail reform on the horizon. When catch-and-release bail policies are criticized, the focus is often on prolific property crime or more public violent incidents. At issue for Donegan in a Kamloops courtroom, though, is a domestic abuser who targeted just one person. While finally ordering him to stay behind bars, she found he is incapable of following court conditions, denying his request to live with his parents in a small Shuswap town. The man can't be named because of an order that protects his alleged victim's identity. He was arrested in early 2021 for multiple alleged sexual assaults against his former partner and had police conditions to stay away from her. He was criminally charged in August. According to the decision, he began to experience paranoia about his partner.  The pair had been in a relationship for "several" years, but their sexual activity began to slow. As that happened, his erratic behaviour and paranoia manifested into a suspicion that she was covertly using a sex toy, according to the decision. The Crown alleges he "searched" her vagina for it on multiple occasions, beginning in the spring of 2020. She said it became "regular." While under conditions, he insisted he come to her house to say "good night" to their daughter in July 2021. She relented and he later assaulted her again, insisting there was a hidden vibrator. He was angry and tried confining her in the house, assaulting their daughter in the process. Much of it was recorded on a security camera inside the home, according to the decision. She escaped and returned to lock him out while he was out looking for her. Police were called and chased him. Although subsequent breaches would find him in custody and brought before a judge, police let him go with a warning. "Rather than bring him before the court, police inexplicably chose to release him again that day on an undertaking with conditions," the decision reads. Less than a month later he would face four new charges for breaching conditions after going some place the complainant went, yelling and swearing at her.  His breaches would continue in the months that followed. He used drugs against a court order, he saw the alleged victim in public and yelled at her. After his ninth release in July 2023, Donegan said his bail compliance got worse. He started working somewhere he wasn't allowed to and stopped reporting to his bail supervisor for most of December. On the phone with a bail supervisor, he was told to turn himself in because of a warrant for his arrest.  "Instead of doing so (he) chose to go off the radar and stop reporting," Donegan's decision reads. "Police went to great lengths to try to find him in order to execute these two warrants, but their efforts were to no avail." In January, still on the lam, his lawyer stopped representing him when he failed to appear for more court dates. He called prosecutors the next month to say he knew of an upcoming court date, then failed to appear again. On Feb. 5, 2023, the Crown applied to proceed with the trial without his attendance, something that rarely occurs, Donegan said. Just before the Crown finished, they learned he turned himself into custody, but he did so in Kelowna, rather than Kamloops where the hearing was taking place. At the time of Donegan's April decision, the man's trial was scheduled for July, but BC Prosecution Service spokesperson Damienne Darby said he pleaded guilty to a new indictment on July 16. The court reviewed his bail again at the time, but ordered that he stay in custody on July 24. He has already pleaded guilty to multiple breaches, but added two more with the new indictment, plus one for each sexual assault and unlawful confinement. The court is awaiting pre-sentence reports and a sentencing hearing is yet to be scheduled. To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry mailto:llandry@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .