Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify how many years Allen Desrosiers has been banished from Canada.
A high-risk sex offender who stalked a woman in Nova Scotia has been banished from Canada for five years.
Allen Desrosiers, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen accused of stalking a woman in the Yarmouth area on two separate occasions, made an appearance in Shelburne Provincial Court Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to criminal harassment.
Judge Jim Burrill noted that banishing someone to a different country is “extremely extraordinary.”
He said he wasn’t able to find a similar case where a Canadian citizen was banished from the country.
“While it’s important to protect society from the commission of offenses, it’s also important as a Canadian court that we not generally be seen as foisting our members of society in breach of the law onto another segment of society, or another country, to take care of and deal with their criminal behaviour,” said Burrill.
Desrosiers was sentenced to three years of probation, during which he must leave Canada and cannot return without the permission of the court. He was also entered into a two-year peace bond, which will take effect at the end of his three years of probation, further restricting him from reentering the country.
Desrosiers was previously convicted of sexual offences in the United States.
He completed a 23-year sentence in 2019 for crimes including kidnapping, rape, assault and battery. His victims were in Massachusetts, and all were female ranging in age from 16 to 47.
On Dec. 14, the RCMP issued a release warning that Desrosiers had been living in Yarmouth County since August.
Two days later, police announced that he had been charged with criminal harassment after two stalking incidents in October and December.
Burrill noted: “While the accused can be described as a serial rapist from the United States … the only crime that he has committed in Canada is the crime for which I sentence him today.”
The Crown and Desrosier’s lawyer made a joint recommendation for the sentencing conditions, with Desrosier’s lawyer arguing that he had no connections to Canada, other than it being the place where his mother was born.
Desrosiers himself told the judge he has no intentions to return to Canada.
“I talked to a lawyer and it would be my wish to return to the United States,” the defendant said.
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He said he does not have an address in the U.S. but has an “arrangement” with a shelter in Boston, Mass.
Burrill accepted the joint recommendation, noting that Desrosiers had lived most of his 64 years of life in the U.S. and would have better access to support and rehabilitation there.
“In this case, I am now convinced that a return to the U.S. offers the best hope of any type of rehabilitation,” the judge said, adding that Desrosiers has also been followed by corrections in the States and is subject to reporting provisions as a sex offender in that jurisdiction.
“That hope for rehabilitation offers some protection for the citizens of Canada as well, because if there’s any chance that he will return, there’s hope he will return rehabilitated and less of a danger than he is today.”
As part of Desrosiers’ conditions, he cannot:
- Return to Canada during the term of the order unless he gets permission from the court;
- Apply for a Canadian passport;
- Have contact with females unless they are peace officers or are facilitating travel.
He must also keep the court informed of any name or address changes.
The RCMP said shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday that Desrosiers had left Canada.
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