RCMP stands by describing violent fugitive as not posing public risk

An ex-fugitive whom police in western Newfoundland said this summer was not a threat to the public had a violent criminal history, CBC News has learned.

RCMP in the Bay St. George area issued a warning in June about a man and woman who were breaking into cabins and trying to evade police.

At the time, police didn't identify the suspects but assured residents that their personal safety was not at risk. The man was described as a fugitive capable of living by his wits in the woods.

"They're not persons that are going to confront anyone and be violent, that we're aware of," Const. Steve Ettinger said at the time.

Matthew Francis O'Quinn, 32, was arrested and charged in July over the series of break-ins. He was released and ordered to stay away from two women in the area.

He was arrested again in August and charged with a string of offences, including unlawful confinement, sexual assault, assault with a weapon and uttering threats.

One of the alleged victims is a woman that the court had ordered O'Quinn to have no contact with.

Man had violent history

A CBC News investigation has found that O'Quinn has had a long history of run-ins with the police and has been convicted of committing violent crimes.

A National Parole Board ruling in 2006 — in which O'Quinn was denied parole — found that he was considered a high risk to reoffend with violence.

He was convicted after confining a woman to a tent for 30 days in 2004 and beating her with a tree branch. A parole board panel found he had a history of using violence to control women.

Contacted by CBC News, the RCMP said it is standing by its June statement that O'Quinn was not a risk to the public.

The force said O'Quinn's alleged victims were people he knew and over whom he was able to exert some sort of control.

The RCMP also said it didn't receive any complaints from the family of the woman who was with O'Quinn in June and officers had no reason to suspect she was in any danger.

At the time of his arrest, O'Quinn had been free on statutory release, meaning he had served two-thirds of a sentence.

On his release earlier this year, a parole board panel gave him strict conditions. Because he hadn't complied with them, he was declared on May 11 to be unlawfully at large.

O'Quinn remains in custody. After being charged in August, he was ordered by a provincial court judge to obtain a psychiatric assessment.