Sex offender in Yellowknife for a month before warning issued

Some Yellowknifers are upset with how the RCMP handled the release of information last week regarding a violent sexual offender.

RCMP issued a warning Oct. 9 about Travis Casaway, 27, who they say "poses a risk of significant harm to the public."

At the time of the warning, Casaway had already been living in Yellowknife for more than a month.

Community members say they were caught off-guard, and wonder if the situation could have been handled with more care.

Bob Bromley, MLA for Weledeh, lives in the same neighbourhood as Casaway. People from the neighbourhood held a meeting on Saturday where the RCMP fielded questions.

"It was a shock to the neighbourhood to find out that a person they have labelled as a serious sexual offender who had the potential for reoffending was in the neighbourhood for a month before we became aware of it," said Bromley.

RCMP say they cannot comment on why it took more than a month to issue a warning about Casaway or when they found out he was in town. The RCMP say that information is protected under the privacy act.

"My understanding is . . . his arrival was a little unexpected," said Bromley. "There was a protocol for this where a number of people get together from the correction system. They have to provide pretty solid reasoning for speaking publicly about a person given the privacy concerns, and it took a number of weeks to do that."

Shannon Ripley was also at the neighbourhood meeting. She says that the strong language in the RCMP's warning provoked fear in the community.

Ripley is also concerned that there may not be enough support in place for Casaway and his family. She says the community's reaction could make a stressful situation for Casaway even worse.

"Maybe if there was a clear mechanism in place to be helping him more right now it would make community members feel more safe and comfortable too," she said.

"He's having his freedoms limited. I think other people in the community are feeling that they're having to self-impose limitations on their movements because they feel scared. It seems like the whole situation is not very ideal for anyone."

Casaway is now under conditions to stay away from children under 16, alcohol, and internet pornography. He'll be in court on Oct. 21 to address these conditions.