Surrey's mayor was shocked to hear that a sex offender was locating here. And Linda Hepner says she found out on the news on Wednesday night.
That was more than an hour after the B.C. Ministry of Justice notified the public that Jeffrey Goddard, a high-risk sex offender, was relocating to Surrey.
The 27-year-old has a criminal history of sexually assault, many of them youth.
"Goddard has maintained a pattern of sexual offending against male youth and adults and communicating via computer to lure male and female youth, in both an opportunistic and predatory manner," said a statement from the ministry.
Hepner told The Leader Thursday she was outraged to hear Goddard was relocating in this city.
"It's common sense that you don't put somebody who is interested in children in the very city that has more children than anywhere in the province," Hepner said. "He is not welcome, and we will be watching his every move."
Goddard originally moved to Vancouver after being released from jail in a-year-and-a-half ago.
In August 2015, Goddard was released on probation after sexually assaulting a mentally handicapped person in jail. He was charged with sexual assault following a complaint at Surrey Pretrial Services Centre, where he was being detained after breaching probation conditions related to a previous sex-related convictions.
He was convicted of the prison sex assault in June 2015 and sentenced Aug. 13, 2015 in Surrey Provincial Court.
He previously served a 20-month jail term for offences committed in 2010, including invitation to sexual touching, communicating via a computer to lure a child, impersonating a police officer and breaching bail conditions. Most of his prior crimes – which often involved luring teen boys – were committed in Abbotsford.
He has been convicted three times for sexual offences against children. He has also been convicted of other offences, including arson, mischief and violating the terms of his release.
Goddard's current release in Surrey is subject to close monitoring and 21 court-ordered conditions including:
- A curfew between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
- Not communicating with anyone under the age of 18.
- Not going to parks, schools, community centres.
- Not creating or accessing any social media accounts.
- Not using smartphones or any device that can access the internet.
Authorities are asking anyone who sees him in breach of these conditions to call police.
He is described as 5'9" and weighs 170 lbs. He is Caucasian and has brown hair and green eyes.
His exact whereabouts are not being disclosed.