It will be another few days before the community learns if a man charged with sexual interference following an incident involving an 11-year-old girl at a Kelowna equestrian facility will be granted bail.
Taylor Dueck and his lawyer appeared by video in a Kelowna Provincial Court on Mar. 6.
After hearing submissions from defence and Crown lawyers, which are protected under a publication ban, the judge reserved a decision on bail until a date next week.
Dueck, who is still in custody, has served multiple sentences for previous convictions of sexual assault.
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His probation conditions, stemming from his previous convictions, require that he be supervised when out in the community, and not be near children or wooded areas.
The public was not notified when Dueck was released from prison and into the Kelowna community.
On Mar. 5, Kelowna-Mission MLA, Renee Merrifield chastised the provincial government over Dueck’s release, calling it a “violation of trust.”
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Kelowna RCMP stated previously that it had requested a Public Interest Disclosure (PID) be issued before Dueck’s release from prison, but that it had been denied.
Dueck has also been charged with invitation to sexual touching and breach of probation stemming from the Kelowna incident which allegedly occurred in early Feb.
B.C. Premier David Eby commented on the situation during Question Period in the Legislature on Wednesday (Mar. 6).
“At every level, this was a massive failure of judgement,” Eby added. “This why it’s so important there be an investigation to identify the individuals who exercised this profound lack of judgement, to hold them accountable, and reassure families in British Columbia that government does not find this acceptable.”
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