A repeat sex offender, Taylor Dueck, has been handed more jail time after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a minor at a Kelowna equestrian facility. The incident occurred on February 9, 2024, and Dueck entered his guilty plea on December 30.
According to the BC Prosecution Service, Dueck admitted to the sexual assault of a person under the age of 16. He has been sentenced to two years less a day, but with time already served, he will remain in jail for the next 240 days. Following his release, Dueck will be under a three-year probation order. He also pleaded guilty to breaching a previous probation condition.
Concerns over Dueck’s supervision have been raised after it was revealed that he was under court-ordered supervision at the time of the assault. The Ministry of Child and Family Development Critic and Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee questioned the adequacy of that supervision.
“Once he’s under house arrest, how can the public feel confident that he’s going to be adequately supervised when the government hasn’t come back and commented on the failure of supervision in the first place?” Boultbee said.
Reports indicate that Dueck’s supervisor, provided by Community Living BC (CLBC), allegedly waited in a car while the assault took place inside the facility’s bathroom. This lack of oversight has sparked backlash against CLBC.
Premier David Eby criticized CLBC for failing to provide adequate supervision for someone with Dueck’s criminal history. “This was a massive failure of judgment for CLBC, to take on responsibility for someone with a criminal record like this,” said Eby. “For them to subcontract that responsibility to an obviously negligent and incompetent subcontractor is unacceptable.”
Community Living BC has since stated that the agency responsible for supervising Dueck remains under review. “The agency’s contracting status with CLBC remains under review, and they are not receiving new service contracts until further notice,” a statement from CLBC said. “The agency will remain under review and will not be awarded any new business until it achieves a three-year Commission of Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities accreditation status. If the agency fails to do so, CLBC may consider terminating its contracts.”
On Friday, Public Safety Minister Gary Begg released the findings of an investigation into the matter. The report concluded that there was no evidence of systemic issues within BC Corrections or policing policies. However, the Investigation and Standards Office made five recommendations, including that BC Corrections and CLBC establish a formal agreement to improve collaboration when supervising CLBC-designated clients under community supervision orders.
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