Convicted sex offender charged after prowler reported in Kingston’s University District

Kingston police say a sex offender was caught prowling in the Queen’s University District last weekend.

According to police, a woman living on the 200 block of Alfred Street called 911 to report that a man was standing on her back porch, just before midnight Saturday. Police say the man may have attempted to enter the home before fleeing.

Officers arrived and couldn’t find the man, but then another call came in about a man prowling nearby, in the Johnson and Alfred streets area.

Police say the description given in the second report matched the one given in the first. He reportedly left the second home on a bicycle, going east on Johnson Street.

Officers say they found a man on the 200 block of University Avenue ducking into an alleyway between two homes.

The 31-year-old was stopped, and police say a search of his name showed he was on the provincial sex offender’s registry for past criminal convictions. His name is not being released under regulations of the Sex Offender Information Registration Act.

Police say he admitted to recently moving to the area and that he was under a court order to relay any information about a move to Kingston police.

When the man tried to show an email exchange with that notification process, an officer allegedly noticed an image of a bedroom on his phone that seemed to have been taken through a window.

He was arrested, and on his way to police headquarters, police say he purposely banged his head against the cruiser’s plexiglass, damaging it.

He was charged with prowl by night and mischief.

Police say they are seeking a court order to access further files on the man’s phone to see if more homes were photographed.

Police ask anyone who may have information about this investigation to contact Det. Kevin Closs at kcloss@kingstonpolice.ca or 613-549-4660 ext. 6302.