Dangerous offender with 'deviant sexual preferences' should be charged, parole board recommends
A dangerous offender with 'deviant sexual preferences for sexual contact with pubescent and/or prepubescent individuals and a fetishistic disorder (specifically towards female undergarments)' who was released from prison last year on a long-term supervision order could be in line for another decade behind bars if the Parole Board of Canada gets its way.
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Halifax Regional Police labelled Harvey Joseph Venus a high-risk sexual offender when he got out of prison in February 2024 on statutory release, the law that requires federal offenders who have served two-thirds of a fixed-length sentence be released under supervision. He was ordered to stay at what's dubbed a community correctional centre in the Halifax area.
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This past February, Venus was caught allegedly driving without a license in a car with a stolen registration sticker on the plate. His passenger allegedly had cocaine on him and Venus told the parole board he'd been shot at some point, though he wouldn't elaborate. Nor could he explain the second cellphone police found in the car.
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His case was back before the parole board two weeks ago so it could make a decision about the suspension of Venus' long-term supervision, ordered by a judge.
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'The board believes that by resuming the (long-term supervision order) you would pose a substantial risk to society,' said his recent parole decision.
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'Your profile allows minimal room for error. As it stands, the board does not believe there is an appropriate program of supervision that can be established that would adequately protect society from the risk of your reoffending. It believes that a breach has occurred.'
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As a consequence, the board recommended Venus be charged with failing or refusing to comply with his long-term supervision order, which according to the Criminal Code is 'punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.'
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When it recommends charges, 'the Correctional Service of Canada shares the board's decision along with relevant documents with the Attorney General's office, who will then decide whether to proceed with laying charges,' Daniel Saulnier, who speaks for the parole board, said Wednesday in an email.
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Venus, 39, is currently serving an eight-year long-term supervision order, said his parole decision, released Wednesday.
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'Initially convicted and sentenced to a four-year sentence for sexual interference of a person under 16, you were subsequently designated as a dangerous offender,' the parole board said. 'The (long-term supervision order) was an option to the court versus an indefinite prison sentence.'
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