Toronto sex offender released, police warn
Posted September 22, 2015 12:26 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A sex offender with a history of assaulting children has been released after serving a one-year sentence.
The Toronto Police Sex Crime Unit released a photo of Richard Patterson, 48, on Tuesday.
Police said he has prior convictions for sexual assault, sexual interference, and failing to comply with court-ordered conditions. He is likely to reoffend, police said.
Patterson will be living in Toronto and must report to a probation officer.
However, as CityNews reporter Cristina Howorun reports, even probation officers don’t like those conditions.
When probation officers check up on the 403 sex offenders on probation and parole in Toronto, not only do they have to give them advance notice, they do it during business hours. That’s 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The fact is, we can’t do surprise visits whatsoever,” says Gord Longhi, a probation and parole officer.
“As it stands, we’re not allowed to do any unscheduled or surprise visits and those are the ones that are most likely to capture these offenders being in possession of things that they’re not supposed to have, like internet or computers, or if they have children living close by in the building.”
Check the database: How many registered sex offenders live in your area?
