CORNER BROOK — An elderly convicted sex offender received a fine and three days in jail, already served, for not completing the annual registration for the sex offender database.
At the end of 2011, Raymond Edward Leonard, 74, was supposed to file his annual registration for the 20-year order he was given following sentencing in 2006. He was convicted of sexually assaulting a man in 2005. Officials with the registry attempted unsuccessfully to contact him at the time.
He was located and arrested by the RCMP in Deer Lake, and spent three days in jail prior to being released.
Legal-aid lawyer Peter Chaffey explained to Judge Kymil Howe that Leonard, who has a Grade 6 education and has literacy difficulties, thought the completion of his probation the following year ended his requirements to register. Although recognizing that does not exempt him from guilt, it does show it was not a deliberate attempt to breach the system.
Crown attorney Adam Sparkes also acknowledged the explanation, while also noting the importance of complying with a system meant to assist police in its investigation of crimes of a sexual nature. He also recommended Howe impose a sentence of time served, but asked for a fine of $500-$700.
Chaffey said the fine would be a hindrance to the senior who receives just $1,100 monthly from old age security. Howe fined Leonard $250 and sentenced him to the three days in jail he already served. The judge also noted the importance of complying with such orders and told him he could face a lengthy jail term if it happened again.
