Canadian Parents...Be on the lookout..Michael Churchill 59, Ottawa..The 'Easter Bunny' pedophile
bobandcarole~
Fri, December 15, 2006
A convicted pedophile who used to serve as Sarnia's Easter bunny and is
a high risk "to reoffend violently" is out on parole, police warned
yesterday.
Sex offender Michael Churchill, 59, was paroled this week and ordered
to live in a halfway house in Ottawa.
Churchill has been behind bars since 1998 after he pleaded guilty to 39
sex-related offences against young boys in a trial that shocked Sarnia.
A respected volunteer who was named to the mayor's honours list in
1985, Churchill also was convicted in 2000 of five sex offences against
mentally disabled men.
"He has a lot of friends and family in Sarnia and I would expect that
he would visit or eventually set up residence here," Sarnia police Sgt.
Andrew Beni, the investigating officer in Churchill's case, said
yesterday.
Churchill was the director of the Sarnia and District Association for
Community Living, and several of the charges involved clients of the
agency, which works with the disabled.
"Some of his victims were able to move on with their lives and many
were not," Beni said.
"I expect that will be similar for the news of his release, that some
will be able to deal with it and some will not."
Churchill was declared a long-term offender in 2002 after being deemed
a high risk to "reoffend violently."
That means when his parole expires in 2011, he will still be monitored
until 2021, something Beni said gives him a little peace of mind.
"From a police officer's perspective, there are far less favourable
releases that we have to deal with," he said.
"We knew that he would eventually be paroled and we were pleased we
were able to designate him a long-term offender. Some offenders get out
with no parole conditions and they can come and go as they please."
But Beni isn't sure of what type of "community correctional centre or
residential centre" Churchill will live in in Ottawa, or how strict
conditions will be.
"Typically what happens is you get out on parole and the conditions are
very strict until you can prove that you can obey the rules and then
they get more flexible," Beni said.
Sarnia police decided to tell the public about Churchill's release
because "he was such a person of note in the community," Beni said.
The conditions of his parole include living in the Ottawa halfway house
and following a treatment plan and getting counselling. He's not
allowed to work or volunteer without permission from his parole
supervisor, can't be with any boys under the age of 18 unless
supervised by an adult approved by his parole supervisor and can't
contact any of his victims.
Churchill pleaded guilty to 39 sex charges involving boys between the
ages of seven and 15 from 1971-96.
He was serving as president of the Sarnia Little Theatre at the time
the charges against him surfaced.
He was placed on the mayor's honours list -- a recognition later taken
away from him -- for his work as the Easter Bunny at Sarnia's Easter
egg hunt, master of ceremonies for Canada Day and other celebrations,
Christmas on the Farm at Canatara Park, with handicapped people and as
a school volunteer helping children learn to read.
Dan Sullivan
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