Premier urges review of public notification system for high-risk sex offenders after Winnipeg student grabbed

Manitoba's premier is calling for a review of public notice guidelines after a 28-year-old man with a past conviction for sexual interference allegedly entered a school and grabbed a student last week.

Wab Kinew wrote a letter to the Community Notification Advisory Committee on Tuesday about the incident, urging it "to thoroughly review the criteria and guidelines used in issuing public notifications of high-risk sex offenders to ensure the public is adequately protected."

That committee — which is appointed by the justice minister and includes representatives from police forces along with the province's corrections, justice and health departments — reviews cases of sex offenders referred to it by police agencies and makes recommendations on whether some form of community notification is warranted with respect to the offender.

"When a convicted sex offender breaches their bail conditions, the whole context of the bail violation should be taken into account by the CNAC and the decision to notify the public must prioritize public safety," reads a portion of Kinew's letter to the committee, dated Dec. 2.

The news comes one day after Kinew and Education Minister Tracy Schmidt ordered safety reviews for all schools in the province, days after Scott William George, 28, allegedly entered Darwin School, hid in a bathroom and grabbed a student.

The student managed to break free uninjured, police previously said.

George was arrested at a nearby mall and charged with assault and forcible confinement. Court documents indicate he has been registered as a sex offender since 2023, when he pleaded guilty to sexual interference.

That crime involved him "randomly" groping a six-year-old girl in front of her parents at a theatre, according to court recordings reviewed by CBC News.

He was sentenced to two years.

As a result of that conviction, he was prohibited from having contact with children or attending areas they'd often be.

George violated those conditions twice earlier this year, including once by entering Dakota Collegiate high school, according to court recordings.

On Monday, Schmidt directed all school divisions to produce an emergency response plan for review of all schools after the incident at Darwin School.

Kinew's letter raises questions as to why George was not listed on the provincial government website for sex offender notifications after his breach at Dakota Collegiate earlier this year.

"If someone on the sex offender registry violates bail at a school, it seems in situations like these that [the] public should be notified," reads some of that letter.