N.B. sex offender faces new assault charge after being placed in special care home

A convicted sex offender is facing a new sexual assault charge after he was placed in a special care home for people with disabilities.

Andrew Michael Douglas, 29, pleaded not guilty in provincial court in Saint John, N.B., Thursday.

Douglas was a resident of Joann’s Special Care Home at the time of the alleged incident.

Joann LaPointe, the owner and operator of the home, which provides care and supervision to individuals in need of special assistance, says the provincial Department of Social Development assesses the suitability of residents.

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“They tell me if I’m allowed (to have a resident),” she said. “I don’t think they told me enough. I believe they only told me part of it … it’s sure an eye-opener for everybody.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They tell me if I'm allowed (to have a resident)," she said. "I don't think they told me enough. I believe they only told me part of it … it's sure an eye-opener for everybody."

Douglas was placed on the sex offender registry in 2011 after he posed on the Internet as a young girl, then contacted a 10-year-old girl on Facebook and tried to convince her to expose her breasts.

When the 10-year-old refused to expose herself, Douglas told her he would create a website about her and put her phone number on it.

The Crown prosecutor said at the time that the 10-year-old girl was not the only person targeted and that Douglas had tried to get other girls to expose their breasts while he was posing as the 13-year-old on Facebook.

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The court was told that Douglas has developmental delays and was not as responsible as he would otherwise be.

In 2016, Douglas was given an 18-month conditional sentence for sexually assaulting a woman in a parking lot, and weeks later was ordered to serve 60 days in jail related to a common assault against a woman.

A pre-trial conference in the new case is set for July 4 while the two-day trial is set to begin Aug. 17.

Police say he has been remanded in custody.

Saint John police Sgt. Chuck Breen says a complaint was lodged against Douglas on March 8 and he was arrested March 14.

He said officers arrested Douglas in the court building while he was there regarding another matter.

Breen said he cannot recall another case where a registered sex offender has been placed in a special care home.

“I’m not saying it’s never happened before but it’s just not something I’ve run across,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I'm not saying it's never happened before but it's just not something I've run across," he said.

The Department of Social Development said in an email it can’t comment on specific cases that are before the courts.