Community safety minister says high-risk offender release in Regina is ‘concerning’

According to Community Safety Minister Michael Weger, it’s reasonable for the community to be concerned when a person who’s a high risk to reoffend sexually is released back into the community.

Concerns have risen in Regina after police warned the public that Jason Paul Thorn had been released and will be living in the city’s Heritage neighbourhood.

Thorn has a long criminal history, including sexual assault on girls, boys and women, as well as assaults and substance abuse.

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Weger was on the Evan Bray Show on Wednesday. He said concern is reasonable, but the way the system works, once someone has served their sentence, they have to be released.

“But not without some safeguards in place,” Weger cautioned. “And I think we can take some assurance that our local police will be watching Mr. Thorn very closely.”

Given Thorn’s history, Weger said he may breach his release conditions again, and he hoped police would have eyes on Thorn and would catch it early before anything too serious happens.

When something like this comes up, Weger said he knows some people think such offenders should just be tossed back in jail, but the minister said that’s not the reality we’re living in.

“We have a Criminal Code in Canada that has to be followed, we have federal legislation that has to be followed, and the judges are bound by sentencing precedence as well — so that’s the system that we’re dealing with,” he said.

Regina Police Service said 49-year-old Jason Paul Thorn poses a high risk for acts of sexual offending against female children. He is 5-foot-9 and weighs about 170 pounds, with a  medium build, brown eyes and black hair. (Regina Police Service/Submitted)

Weger was asked about a dangerous offender designation, which could have an offender kept behind bars indefinitely. Weger said Thorn is probably at a stage where he’s getting closer to such a designation.

“That’s something that falls on our prosecutions and our justice system to have another safeguard in place that he could potentially be considered a dangerous offender at some point,” he explained, saying he has trust in the public prosecutions office.

In terms of changes, Weger said his provincial government has been putting a lot into reintegration programs in and out of jails. He said he’s also been joining with other provincial ministers to advocate for criminal justice and bail reforms, and that movement has been happening.

Police chief calls high-risk offender releases ‘frustrating’

When asked about the release of a high-risk offender, Saskatoon Police Chief Cam McBride called it frustrating.

“From a policing perspective, because often we understand and we’ve seen first-hand the violence and the victimization that these individuals have inflicted on members of our community and so it’s very, very frustrating,” he said on the Evan Bray Show on Tuesday.

Whether these kinds of offenders are released with or without conditions, McBride said police get advance notice, giving them the ability to create a plan and be “all over them.”

“And where they slip up, and often they do, we’re there, and we’re ready to arrest and charge them once again,” he said.

McBride also spoke about the need for bail reform and proper sentencing guidelines to ensure the sentence properly fits the crime.