Accused Edmonton child abductor faces more sexual assault charges

EDMONTON – The Correctional Service of Canada will investigate why Edmonton police were not given authority to warn the public when a long-term offender, now charged with the sexual assaults of two young girls, was released into the community in March.

The man was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl.

Police allege he lured the girl into a vehicle as she played with a friend in the city's north end on Friday. Police believe the same man abducted a seven-year-old girl in front of Belmont Elementary School on Sunday, sparking an Amber Alert.

Danial Todd Gratton, 44, is now charged with two separate counts of sexual assault, sexual interference, kidnapping and abduction, as well as giving a noxious substance to the seven-year-old and making death threats against the 10-year-old. The charges have not been proven in court.

Police knew Gratton was living in northeast Edmonton, but he didn't meet the criteria for them to notify the public, Chief Mike Boyd said.

Normally, notification of a high-risk offender is sent out if the offender is untreated and ineligible for early release or parole. Gratton's last two years in custody were spent on parole, while he attended the Phoenix Program for serious sexual offenders at Alberta Hospital.

Thus, Corrections Canada never sent the order to police that would lead to a high-risk assessment.

"We did not complete that high-risk assessment, we were not notified of that order," Boyd said, so police did not inform the public.

Sunday's alleged abduction and sexual assault of the seven-year-old girl, who was dropped off four hours later in the town of Wildwood, led police to connect Gratton to their investigation of Friday's abduction of the 10-year-old.

On Friday evening, a man pulled up to two 10-year-old girls and asked if they wanted ice cream. One girl recognized the man as a former tenant in their apartment building. She ran home to get her parents' permission while the other girl got into the vehicle. The man then drove away, and allegedly assaulted the girl a short distance away.

He dropped her off at the same location he met her, and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

On Saturday evening, the girl told her mother.

Boyd met with corrections officials on Wednesday to discuss whether to change the release process for long-term offenders.

He said the public must understand that notifications are only issued when deemed justifiable by law. Media releases are not sent out for every sex offender released into the community, he said.

Gratton was sentenced to six years in prison in 2002 for sexually assaulting six children, including one girl he admitted assaulting at least 70 times over a six-month period.

Two years ago, he was released on parole to attend the Phoenix Program. The voluntary program provides men convicted of serious sexual crimes with treatment for interpersonal issues and deviance away from a prison setting. It stresses re-offence prevention, and teaches decision making and general coping skills.

Upon Gratton's March 20 completion of his six-year sentence, he was released under a ten-year supervision order, the maximum period. He was supposed to meet regularly with his parole officer.

He had previously been banned for life from any place where children gather.

Gratton was working as a window framer for a company with contracts with large shopping malls and office buildings. In September, he moved into a northeast Edmonton townhouse, said a relative.

A "children playing" sign sits near the entrance to the townhouse complex where Gratton lived.

There are at least two elementary schools within walking distance of the complex, said Gord Pears, a neighbour. Pears has lived in the townhouse complex for 32 years and is on the condo board.

"I'm angry," Pears said. "They should have at least let the board know . . . there's a lot of kids in the complex."

Pears said he called the owner of Gratton's rented unit and "gave her heck."

"They should do background checks, she didn't even know their last names."

Gratton lived with two roommates.

Pears thinks police knew where to find Gratton. They were circling his complex by 12:30 p.m., just over an hour after Sunday's abduction.

Pears saw Gratton being arrested early Monday morning and led away in handcuffs.

Gratton was banned from public places where children gather, but it can be almost impossible to enforce such limitations, one legal expert said.

"It does show you the kinds of limitations those long-term offender designations have built into them," said Janine Benedet, an associate law professor at the University of British Columbia. "The idea the individual could live in the community away from children is only possible if they're perhaps living in some kind of halfway house with lots of supervision or maybe in some very remote area."

Public notification could also help ensure such individuals stay away from children, she said. Alberta is one of only two provinces that posts information – including photographs and descriptions of past criminal activities – regarding some high-risk offenders online. There are approximately 70 such offenders currently on the Alberta solicitor general's website. Gratton is not among them.

While offenders might be prevented from visiting public places where children gather, such limitations don't typically restrict where offenders can live, she said. It's up to the police to decide which offenders might appear on the solicitor general's website.

A mother of three daughters, aged 9, 10 and 12, who lives in the area, watched police tow away a blue Jeep Liberty as she left for work Monday morning.

"I am shocked to hear this was the vehicle and the area where the suspect was arrested, the same area where my daughter catches the bus every morning," she said. "This is an area where children ride their bikes, go to the park, walk home from school, play with their siblings and friends. You look at (the area) and there is nothing but schools, playgrounds and children."

bgelinas@thejournal.canwest.com

jyang@thejournal.canwest.com