Fredericton man sought to get off sex-offender registry
Weldon Glenwood McLean, 71, of Fredericton, who was convicted of a violent sexual assault from 2011, abandons court application upon learning it was public proceeding
A Fredericton man who received a pardon for sexually assaulting someone with a knife 12 years ago applied to a court to be removed from the sex-offender registry.
But upon learning the court proceeding would be a public one Wednesday, he abandoned the application.
Weldon Glenwood McLean, 71, of Leafwood Crescent in Fredericton but formerly of Pleasant Street in Minto, pleaded guilty in March 2011 to a charge of sexually assaulting a female complainant with a knife in Minto on Feb. 28, 2011.
The victim’s identity is subject to a court-ordered publication ban.
McLean was sentenced in May 2011 to two years and 20 days behind bars and a 10-year prohibition against possessing firearms and other weapons.
He was also ordered to comply with an order under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA), requiring him to register annually for a period of 20 years.
McLean filed an application with Fredericton provincial court Aug,. 22 under Section 490.016 of the Criminal Code of Canada, seeking to be removed from the sex-offender registry.
In the application, he notes that he received a pardon for the sex crime, though it doesn’t note when.
Section 490.016(1) of the Criminal Code states as follows:
“The court shall make a termination order if it is satisfied that the person has established that the impact on them of continuing an order or an obligation, including on their privacy or liberty, would be grossly disproportionate to the public interest in protecting society through the effective prevention or investigation of crimes of a sexual nature, to be achieved by the registration of information relating to sex offenders under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act.”
His application was before provincial court Judge Cameron Gunn on Wednesday.
The judge noted the file indicates McLean had received a pardon for his 2011 sex-crime conviction, and McLean had checked off a box on the court form he filled out to make the application that he’d received a pardon.
However, the court likely meant that McLean had received a record suspension for his offence, which is the equivalent of a pardon under Canadian law.
The federal government amended the Criminal Records Act on March 13, 2012, to replace the term “pardon” with the term “record suspension.”
That legislative change also increased the waiting periods for a record suspension to five years for all summary convictions and to 10 years for indictable crimes.
Gunn explained to McLean what he had to argue to convince the court to grant an early end to the registration order and the high bar he had to meet.
“The burden is on you. You have to show why the [SOIRA] order should be lifted,” the judge told him, noting that he had to demonstrate the registration order has a “grossly disproportionate” impact on his life.
“It isn’t just that it’s an inconvenience.”
Prosecutor Brian Munn said the Crown would need an adjournment, as he had to gather some additional information before arguing the application.
But the hearing took an odd turn when McLean asked if it would be held in private. He told the court he was informed by an RCMP official who administers the registry that it wouldn’t be public.
Gunn said the open-court principle still applies, and there was no provision in the law for it to be held behind closed doors.
The judge said it could be the RCMP official with whom McLean spoke was referring to the fact that the personal details in the sex-offender registry aren’t accessible by the general public.
Court recessed briefly so Munn could try to reach the registry administrator and to see if there was possibly any provision that allowed the application to be heard in private, but he subsequently told the judge he was unable to reach the official and knew of no legal authority that would allow for a private hearing.
McLean said since the matter would be one of public record, he was abandoning his application.
Outside the courthouse Wednesday, he declined a request for comment from the Fredericton Independent. He also asked if there would be a report on his case, and he was told there would be.
“I wish you wouldn’t,” he said as he made his way down the front steps of the Justice Building.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.