Canadian authorities have announced that Michael Sean Stanley, a sex offender with a history of molesting children and women, managed to slip through a nationwide dragnet and enter the United States. Josephk mentioned this earlier this morning, but since this came while most of us were asleep, I'm doing another diary given the urgency of the matter.
Michael Stanley
“EPS detectives were able to confirm with U.S. customs and border protection that Stanley crossed from British Columbia into Washington state at the Blaine border crossing on the evening of Oct. 7,” said Edmonton Det. Chris Hayduk at a news conference held Thursday afternoon.
Hayduk would not say where exactly Stanley was found, but noted he has not been secured by American police.
It is not yet known how Stanley travelled into the U.S.
A spokesperson for the Whatcom County Sheriff's office in Washington told CBC's Scott Fralick there had been a great deal of activity around the Blaine crossing Monday night, including a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that was enlisted to aid Canadian authorities.
Stanley has
an arrest record dating back to 1987 and has a severe personality disorder. His most recent conviction came in 2006, when he pleaded guilty
to luring two Edmonton boys into a vacant apartment and blowing crack smoke in their faces. He was sentenced to 32 months in prison and was released in April 2011. However, he was released on a peace bond, which required him to wear an electronic bracelet and observe 20 conditions, including no contact with children.
However, on October 1, he somehow managed to slip from his home in Edmonton and travel to Lloydminster, a city that is located on both sides of the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, and cut off his bracelet. This prompted officials in Lloydminster and several other localities to put area schools on lockdown. On October 7, his Chevy Blazer was found in Lethbridge, Alberta; he has family there. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police issued a nationwide warrant for Stanley's arrest on charges of breaching recognizance, mischief and driving violations.
That was the last we heard of him until this bombshell. Apparently he was able to get into this country because he's a U.S. citizen and there was no warrant out for his arrest. And American officials haven't been able to put out the word about him at least in part due to the government shutdown. Media contacts for Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security aren't available due to the shutdown--which leads one to wonder how in the world they could be classified as "nonessential."
Canadian and American authorities have some idea where he is, but don't want to tip him off. However, it's very likely he's somewhere in the Pacific Northwest--so those of you in Washington and Oregon--and maybe Idaho--need to be on the lookout.
In what has to qualify as one of the most brain-dead comments I've seen in a long time, a Canadian extradition lawyer actually says that since he's charged with relatively minor offenses, it's not worth the effort to arrest him.
A British Columbia extradition lawyer believes the smartest thing Canadian officials can do is leave Stanley south of the border.
Gary Botting said Friday that if Stanley is eventually arrested in the U.S., his extradition process would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and he would face little jail time if convicted of the minor charges he is currently wanted on in Canada.
“He’s gone. Good riddance. That’s the bottom line. Why would Canada work to get him back?” Botting said from Coquitlam, B.C.
Tell that to the many people this guy has attacked. And tell that to the parents of the kids whose schools were under lockdown.