Saskatchewan Court of Appeal dismisses appeal by sexual predator

A child predator who was declared a dangerous offender in December of 2018 has had his appeal of that designation, and an indefinite sentence, dismissed.

The appeal was heard on Nov. 30 and the decision was released Wednesday online.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision written by Madame Justice Lian M. Schwann ruled 43-year-old Marc Andrew Potter will stay behind bars for an indefinite period of time, and will keep the dangerous offender designation.

Justices Jeffery Kalmakoff and Neal Caldwell concurred.

Potter argued the D.O. sentencing judge didn’t take into account his “treatability.”  He also argued the judge didn’t consider that his past sex offender treatment was ineffective because of an undiagnosed mental disorder.

Potter was last convicted of sexual assault and exposing himself to a nine-year-old Saskatoon boy on multiple occasions in 2015. Potter pleaded guilty and was declared a dangerous offender in 2018 after a lengthy hearing.

The sentencing judge concluded Potter “demonstrates a pattern of behaviour that shows a persistent failure to restrain harmful conduct, particularly toward children, and his conduct is likely to continue in the future.”

According to court documents, Potter began offending at the age of 12, and has four convictions for sexual assault against children. He has admitted to victimizing up to 24 children with whom he said he had some kind of sexual contact.

He has been in sex offender treatment three times. During his D.O. hearing, the judge noted Potter’s belief that “children are able to consent to sexual contact and that his offending was not harmful to them” were relevant considerations for keeping him behind bars for an indefinite period of time.

Schwann concluded: “(Potter) cannot be managed in the community with a less restrictive sentence than detention in a penitentiary for an indeterminate period are reasonable. Accordingly, Mr. Potter’s appeal must be dismissed.”