Sex offender with long criminal record expected to live in Winnipeg after release: police
Charles Henry Desjarlais, 62, was serving 10-year sentence for sexual assault conviction
A convicted sex offender with a history of violent offences and a lengthy criminal record is expected to live in Winnipeg, and police warn he is considered a high risk to reoffend in a sexually violent manner against girls and women.
Charles Henry Desjarlais, 62, was released Thursday under a statutory release from Stony Mountain Institution, where he was serving a sentence for a 2019 conviction of sexual assault with a weapon. Desjarlais was given a 10-year sentence for that conviction.
He was also designated as a long-term offender, and will be under a supervision order until 2039, Winnipeg police said in a news release Thursday.
Although he has completed some sexual offender treatment in the past, police said he remains a high risk to offend in a sexually violent manner against women and girls.
Desjarlais has a lengthy criminal record, including four prior convictions for sexual offences.
He was convicted of rape, armed robbery and theft over $200 in 1982, for which he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
In April 2002, he was sentenced to four years, six months in prison after being convicted of sexual assault and uttering threats.
He was convicted again in February 2003 for sexual assault and received a seven-year sentence.
And in May 2016, he was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to three years, six months in prison.
Desjarlais is under a lifetime weapons prohibition and will be under several conditions during his statutory release.
He is not allowed to be in the presence of anyone under 16, unless he is with an adult approved by his parole supervisor, or to be near places where children are likely to be, such as schools, parks or swimming pools.
Desjarlais is described as five feet, eight inches tall, and weighs 161 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes and several tattoos on his arms, legs and torso, including tattoos of Pegasus and a reaper on his left forearm, and a reaper on his right forearm.
Police said Thursday's community notification is intended to ensure the public can take suitable measures to protect themselves, but warned any form of vigilante activity or unreasonable conduct toward Desjarlais will not be tolerated.
Anyone with information about Desjarlais is asked to call the Manitoba Integrated High Risk Sex Offender Unit at 431-489-8056, Winnipeg police at 204-986-6222, a local RCMP detachment, or Manitoba Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.