A convicted sexual offender with a serious criminal record has been released from custody once again, raising alarms in the Edmonton community where he’s now residing.
Dana Michael Fash was granted bail on Friday and was released on Monday afternoon.
In 1997, Fash was handed a 12-year sentence for sexually assaulting two women.
After serving that time, he was charged with second-degree murder in 2016 in relation to the 2011 death of Jeanette Marie Cardinal. Cardinal’s body was found in an apartment suite on 119 Avenue and 81 Street in Edmonton.
The second-degree murder charge was recently stayed and Fash was released. Edmonton police issued a city-wide warning about him, stating they believe he could commit another violent offence.
A few weeks later, Fash was arrested again. He was taken into custody for failing to comply with the terms of his sex offender registry. Now he’s out on bail.
READ MORE: Edmonton man known as ‘Mill Woods rapist’ granted bail
Watch below: (From March 1, 2019) Dana Fash, the man known as the ‘Mill Woods rapist’ was back in an Edmonton court Friday for a bail hearing. Vinesh Pratap was at the law courts.
Edmonton mom Barb Sharpe said Tuesday that she believes Fash is living in her community.
“It’s terrifying,” she said.
“Try to go to sleep and you’re constantly waking up at every noise… the furnace turning on, a creak at the door, sleeping with a bat. These are realities. I have a house full of women. It’s not fair.”
She doesn’t believe Fash should be living among families.
“Why not put him in a halfway home so he can have somebody constantly watching him until people feel safe that he’s going to be a regular citizen?”
Sharpe said she wishes the police would have warned her neighbourhood specifically that Fash was moving in. She said she would have liked the chance to take preventative measures.
“Stepping up security in our area and our homes, and letting our community know that there’s someone in our area that’s a predator,” she said.
A criminal defence lawyer who does not represent Fash said that just wouldn’t work.
“I would predict that there would be a community uproar about him being in their community and steps would be taken to drive him out,” Tom Engel said.
The lawyer said it has happened to his clients before. He believes that would simply serve to ostracize offenders further.
“If you make it so difficult for a person to reintegrate into society, such that they’re treated as a pariah and run out of neighbourhoods, I would think that would reduce significantly the chance that they are going to successfully reintegrate and be rehabilitated.”
Engle pointed out that offenders need to live somewhere. Sharpe said she just wishes it wasn’t so close to her.
“That’s not fair to us. Where’s our safety?” she asked.
“What did we do to deserve this? Now our entire community has to live in fear.”
Fash is scheduled to be back in court on March 15.