Mission residents continue to protest against the relocation of high-risk sex offender, James Conway, into their community.
“This makes no sense at all,” Mission mayor Randy Hawes said. “Why would they not take a look at, if there’s kids around, you know there are better locations.”
Hawes say BC Corrections was given a list of 60 locations and it shortlisted it down to 14.
The decision after that was left up to Conway and his housing provider.
“In this case he’s residing at this location and we do not have the authority to move him under the court order,” BC Corrections spokesperson Amy Lapsley said.
According to a title search the property where Conway may be residing was purchased in the end of July, just days before he was relocated.
Global News has learned that the person who owns it actually shares the same name as a managerial team member of WJS Canada – the company contracted to look after of James Conway and that helped him choose this location.
READ MORE: High-risk sex offender James Conway moving to Mission
“It just doesn’t look right. It doesn’t smell right, and everything about it, so far, is wrong,” Hawes said.
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The mayor said the CEO of WJS told him the owner and employee are one in the same.
“I asked why buy it in your employees name? Basically his response was ‘well we never, WJS never put any money into this, the employee did it on their own,” added Hawes.
“But now this fellow is living in a house with a subcontractor of WJS providing the care in a house that was bought by a WJS employee.”
Global News asked WJS’ Chief Executive Officer – Peter Farnden – if he thought it was a conflict of interest that one of their employees was the owner of the property they are renting to house James Conway – to which he replied he had no comment.
Global News also asked him if he denied that the employee was actually the owner of the property but he refused to comment.
READ MORE: Residents rally against high-risk sex offender James Conway moving to Mission
Protesters said they have seen Conway on the property in question.
WATCH: A fence has gone up around the home that is believed to be the new residence of sex offender James Conway. He relocated to Mission from Abbotsford after that city enforced a zoning by-law to get him out. John Hua reports.
Hawes says he’s been given no information on why the other 13 shortlisted residences lost out.
Now, he worries public safety may not have been the deciding factor.
“I think that the property was specifically purchased to house this man, and so once they narrowed it down they looked for a house they could buy and this is what they did. That’s what I believe.”
Conway had been initially relocated to Abbotsford but was moved because of zoning bylaw violations.
In Abbotsford, WJS previously leased a property from an independent owner with no ties to the organization. Neighbours say he is looking to sell the property.
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