Mother says family retraumatized after sex offender released on bail
CBC
A Halifax sex offender who was sentenced to 4½ years in prison last month in a case involving a four-year-old girl has been released on bail as he awaits an appeal.
Robert Warren Munro, 41, spent about three weeks behind bars after being sentenced in December on a charge of sexual interference.
The charge was related to an incident that occurred in May 2023. Munro, who was a close friend of the victim’s family, had been babysitting when he sexually assaulted the young girl.
The appeal documents allege the court and trial judge erred in its decision and both sides agreed there are reasonable grounds for appeal.
Munro appeared in Nova Scotia Court of Appeal on Thursday. His lawyer and the Crown argued whether he should be released on bail with conditions pending his appeal hearing in September.
Crown prosecutor Erica Koresawa opposed Munro's release, but she said the court came up with a plan that imposes tight controls and penalties on him.
"It is a very strict release plan with a high value, so everybody who's involved, the sureties and Mr. Munro, know that there's a lot at stake should there be any breaches,” Koresawa said following court Thursday.
Munro will remain on house arrest living with his mother, who will act as one of his sureties, in her south-end Halifax home. His father is his other surety.
Other conditions of his release include:
Munro and his parents have pledged a total of $27,000 to ensure he sticks by these conditions.
But they offer no comfort to the victim’s mother.
“I feel that there was a callous disregard for the victims' well-being," she told CBC News on Thursday, following the bail hearing’s outcome.
"The system is supposed to serve the public interest, and I just don't feel that that's what it's doing right now."
The mother, who CBC News is not identifying to protect her daughter who is the subject of a publication ban, pointed to Munro's previous breaches of conditions by being around children.
The cost of road construction projects paid for by the Newfoundland and Labrador government has nearly doubled in just six years.
As 1,000 or so Algoma Steel workers prepare to get laid off in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., this March, many of them will be focused on finding new employment in the region.
A Halifax sex offender who was sentenced to 4½ years in prison last month in a case involving a four-year-old girl has been released on bail as he awaits an appeal.
The new transitional housing project on Forest Hill Road in Fredericton is two weeks away from completion and some residents have already moved in to their new spaces.
When Gilbert Hajj walks through his family home in Baie-D'Urfé, Que., these days, he moves like someone navigating a maze — pointing to walls that are staying, those that are going, and spaces that will soon serve new purposes.
A former acquaintance of Elston Bostock says the disgraced Winnipeg police constable had a reputation for being a "hookup" and would routinely "fairy dust" partiers with white powdered drugs.
"So what do they teach you in university?"
Between central Alberta’s freezing winter temperatures and the recent closure of a drop-in centre run by a local harm-reduction group, Red Deer Public Library CEO Shelley Ross has seen an uptick in the number of homeless people spending time at the branches.
As Ali Marsman walks through the aisles of a newly reopened 80-year-old cinema in Hope, B.C., she tears up and laughs with happiness.
Diane Bouwman, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001, said the disease can make you lose your confidence.
Fireguards are designed to protect people and communities by clearing land to slow the spread of wildfires.
Former CBC host Cathy Alex is being remembered for her resounding laughter, love of the outdoors and commitment to the communities she served during her 33-year career.
Toronto's morning commuters are facing challenges yet again this week due to another temporary service stoppage on parts of Line 1 on Friday.