RCMP warn Nova Scotians about release of sex offender

RCMP are warning the public in southwest Nova Scotia about a dangerous sex offender now living in the area.

Scott David Desrosiers, 53, was released from a community correctional facility in Dartmouth on Christmas Eve and initially went to New Brunswick. However, he has recently relocated to Queens County, prompting the warning.

Desrosiers's criminal record dates back to 1989 and includes convictions for aggravated sexual assault and forcible confinement. 

A parole report was prepared last September as Desrosiers reached the warrant expiry date on his sentence of 20 years, 10 days on charges including aggravated sexual assault and fraud.

The aggravated sexual assault charge related to a prolonged attack on a former girlfriend.

"Only through luck was she able to escape your clutches," the parole board noted in its decision, "only to have experienced great physical and psychological trauma."

Desrosiers had prior convictions for aggravated sexual assault and forcible confinement, which the board said mirrored his more recent offences.

"In both instances you appear to have exacted revenge against two innocent women who you perceived to have wronged or betrayed you."

The board said that Desrosiers suffered such anxiety about the prospect of being released from prison at the end of his sentence that he committed a $1,000 bank fraud in a bid to extend his sentence.

Desrosiers is assessed as a high risk to engage in relationship violence. As a result, one of the conditions for his latest release is that he report any intimate relationships to police. He must also abstain from drugs and alcohol and associating with anyone else who has a criminal record.