Tempers flared at a public meeting in Bishop's Falls in Newfoundland and Labrador on Thursday night, as about 100 people gathered to discuss whether a convicted sex offender should leave town.
INDEPTH: Sex offender registry
The 24-year-old man served five months in prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy and is now on probation in the central Newfoundland community.
Provincial authorities wrote a letter to Bishop's Falls residents after the man's release.
'If they don't get him out soon, I'm going to get him out.'-Sean George, resident of Bishop's Falls
Meeting organizer Joe O'Reilly, who believes the man should not live in the community, read a letter from the man's relatives that said most rumours about him were untrue and pleaded for understanding.
"[He] has been diagnosed as being developmentally delayed and has the mentality of an adolescent," O'Reilly read.
The family's letter said the man cannot take care of himself and requires 24-hour care. As well, the family said they can no longer look after his needs.
However, people at the meeting were not in an understanding mood.
"If they don't get him out soon, I'm going to get him out," neighbour Sean George said to a cheering crowd. "The system screwed up."
"The meeting should have taken place before he ever came here," resident Hubert Sutton said.
One woman was among those who called for immediate action. "Two weeks is not good enough for us – 24 hours, 48 hours maximum," she said.
O'Reilly said he hopes to find out whether provincial officials or the man's family can find new accommodations in such a short time.
Support group says warnings good idea
Meanwhile, a man who helps ex-convicts move back into society says he believes people should be informed if a potentially dangerous offender moves into their neighbourhood.
Ron Fitzpatrick, executive director of a St. John's-based group called Turnings, said people have a right to know who is moving into their community.
"It would be better, for instance, for this gentlemen, no doubt about it, if the letter wasn't sent around," Fitzpatrick said of the official warning distributed to Bishop's Falls residents. "But, at the same time, the public needs to know."
Nevertheless, Fitzpatrick said people in Bishop's Falls should not be campaigning to have the man removed from their town.
He said if people want safer communities, they must be part of the solution. They can do that by providing support to former offenders so they don't reoffend, he said.