High-risk sex offender arrested on Vancouver Island

A notorious high-risk sexual offender has been arrested after allegedly approaching a girl on Vancouver Island.

West Shore RCMP were called over reports a man approached the female youth at a Langford bus stop on Peatt Road on Thursday, Jan. 21.

“The man spoke to her and she recognized him as Cameron Ratelle from the VicPD notification. The female youth kept herself safe and immediately spoke with a trusted adult, in this case a parent, who called police,” RCMP said.

“She was not physically injured in the incident.”

Cameron Ratelle, 41, was taken into custody by Victoria police officers the following day for breaching his release conditions.

“His parole was revoked and he was returned to a correctional facility,” West Shore RCMP said.

Ratelle was released back into the Victoria area in October, prompting police to issue a public warning regarding his history of violent sexual offences against young women.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Vancouver police issued several similar warnings when Ratelle was living in the city between 2017 and 2019.

Ratelle is a court-designated dangerous offender and has been convicted of sexual assault against a person under the age of 18, and against university women living on campuses in Ontario.

Since 2017 the public has been warned five times of Ratelle and his criminal background.