The Parole Board of Canada has decided to allow a convicted sex offender under a long-term supervision order back into society with a reprimand rather than keeping him in custody after several alleged breaches of his release conditions, as Kingston police have declined to lay charges in the matter.
According to parole board documents, 28-year-old Lucas Petrini abducted a nine-year-old child in Brampton, Ont., in 2008, then subjected the child to repeated sexual assaults. After serving a decade in prison, Petrini was released in Kingston in November 2018 with a long-term supervision order that carried several conditions meant to restrict his movement within society for 10 years.
According to the documents, Petrini was deemed at high risk to re-offend. In an unusual move, Kingston police shared an image of the offender as a warning to residents.
The offender was released on a multitude of conditions, including refraining from alcohol and drugs, not contacting the victim or their family and not contacting minors, the parole board documents state. He was also ordered to follow a treatment plan, keep up with psychological counselling and not own a computer that would allow access to the internet.
Since his release in 2018, Petrini has been taken into custody three times for alleged breaches of those conditions, according to parole board documents.
In December 2018, the board said Petrini was caught crushing and preparing to snort medication. He was arrested for this alleged breach but then released from custody, the documents state.
According to the parole board, a phone was found in Petrini’s room in March 2019 that had access to the internet. The board said the phone’s screensaver was a photo of a young boy in only pajama bottoms and corrections officials also reportedly found two photos of sexualized cartoons on the device.
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Petrini was arrested, and the parole board imposed three new conditions on the offender, namely a prohibition on any technological device that would allow access to the internet, a prohibition on child pornography or sexually explicit material in any form and a prohibition on pictures, photographs or any type of media of children under the age of 18, the documents state.
Despite the parole board’s recommendation that Kingston police lay charges against Petrini for breaching his conditions, the parole board said police and the Crown attorney were unable to lay charges, although the board does not detail why charges couldn’t be laid.
Petrini was then released back into society again on June 9, 2019. The parole board noted that upon this release, Petrini’s demeanour had changed.
“It was noted that your attitude had become more argumentative and confrontational than during previous releases. You were granted limited access to the community,” the most recent parole board decision wrote.
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Just three days after he was released, on July 12, Petrini allegedly smoked marijuana with two other offenders at the facility where he was staying, according to parole board documents.
Staff had also reportedly seen him and two other offenders smoking marijuana in a wooded area behind a nearby coffee shop that faces a gymnastic club that young people frequently attend, the documents state.
“There is a garage door that is routinely opened at the club that is visible from the wooded area. When staff members searched this area, there was a significant amount of drug paraphernalia located,” the parole board document reads.
According to the document, Petrini was subjected to a urine test, which came back positive for cannabis use, and another offender reportedly admitted to smoking the substance with Petrini. The parole board document also said correctional staff learned that Petrini had sold marijuana to another offender.
Petrini allegedly admitted to buying three grams of marijuana and rolling nine joints, three of which he sold to other offenders, the document states. Five weeks after he was released back into society, Petrini was once again taken into custody for using drugs.
Nevertheless, Kingston police did not charge Petrini for this apparent breach, saying the wording of the condition made it hard for police to impose, according to parole board documents.
“Charges are not being pursued as marijuana is a legal drug and the wording of the imposed special condition to abstain from drugs was deemed to be too vague,” the parole board decision read.
Since no charges were laid, the board decided to release Petrini again to the community with a reprimand and a new condition specific to marijuana use.
According to a Parole Board of Canada spokesperson, a reprimand is often issued to clarify a condition already imposed on an offender.
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