N.W.T. town worries after sex offender arrested
Residents in Hay River, N.W.T., called for increased security Tuesday after learning a man who lived in their community for six months was charged with sexually assaulting two children.
John Melanson, 43, was arrested in Toronto on Feb. 27 and held in custody for violating a court order. Hay River RCMP laid a number of charges against Melanson, including two counts of sexual assault and one count of possession of child pornography.
RCMP hope to find out in the next week if additional charges may be laid against Melanson, a convicted sex offender who was put on probation after being released from prison in 2006.
"We are still gathering some information from the Toronto Police Service that will help us in determining what other charges will be laid," Const. Brad Parker said Tuesday.
Toronto police say Melanson has an extensive criminal record that includes convictions for sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching, and possession and distribution of child pornography.
Investigators with the service's sex crimes unit are now tracing where the New Brunswick native may have travelled to since his release. Melanson has outstanding warrants in Manitoba and Quebec, Det. Const. Brad Cooper said Tuesday.
"The investigation right now is encompassing many jurisdictions across Canada as well as areas within the United States," Cooper said.
School and library volunteer
According to reports, Melansonquickly made himself at home after arriving in Hay River in the summer of 2006, allegedly by volunteering at the local high school and library.
He disappeared in January amid rumours that child pornography had been found on his computer. A group of concerned Hay River citizens went online and discovered he had moved to Toronto, then notified police there.
Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen said Tuesday that she couldn't understand why no one had warned residents about Melanson living in their community.
"Does the justice system not have a means of having a person report in when they're on probation when they've gone missing obviously for six months from the jurisdiction he was in?" she asked.
"We need to do more to work with folks to ensurethat criminal record checks become a standard course of action, and also that there needs to be better reporting between jurisdictions in Canada."
Since Melanson's charges came to light, Hay River schools have decided to ask for criminal record checks from volunteers. Justice Minister Brendan Bell said criminal record checks would be a good idea for all volunteers in the territories.