Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kelowna MLA says she's been hearing of more sexual offenders released to the area without notice to the public after speaking out against Taylor Dueck's "secretive" release to the Okanagan.

MLA Renee Merrifield said she's trying to find "the best way" to let the public know about sexual predators living in Kelowna after multiple people have reached in the fallout of Dueck's arrest.

The Kelowna-Mission MLA didn't share those offenders with iNFOnews.ca, saying she wanted to verify the names.

"I think the fear is accurate that there are other child molesters who have been released, have not had public notification and are living in Kelowna," she said.

She stood at the legislature last week to call out the province's system that protected the repeat sexual offender's privacy, while he allegedly sexually assaulted a young girl at a Kelowna horse farm.

READ MORE: Supervision lapse for sexual predator in Kelowna a 'complete failure'

The public wasn't notified of Dueck's release to Kelowna, but the local RCMP detachment said it "sought" to alert the public. Exactly whose decision it was not to tell the public isn't clear.

"The community isn't asking for RCMP officers to walk with them when they go to and from different places. They're asking for notifications when a criminal who has served their time is being released into their community," Merrifield said. "There is a desire on behalf of the public to know who is amongst them."

She said the "elevation" of a convicted predator's privacy over a public notification is an "absurdity that needs to be rectified."

The public wasn't warned of Taylor Dueck's release to Kelowna, despite repeated offences and a previous public warning in Abbotsford.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The Ministry of Public Safety is investigating the incident and conducting a "systemic review" of "all involved agencies."

Dueck was supposed to be under supervision by Personal Lifestyle Support, a company contracted by Community Living BC, which is a Crown agency that works with disabled adults.

The supervisor, according to Merrifield, was outside the facility in a car for two hours within the time Dueck allegedly assaulted the 11-year-old in a bathroom in early February.

The company has not responded to a request for comment from iNFOnews.ca, but Community Living BC said while the company still has some contracts, it is not supervising anyone else with court-ordered conditions.

READ MORE: Sexual material offences driving Kelowna to three-peat as crime capital of Canada

In 2020, Dueck was released after a previous sexual assault conviction. Abbotsford Police Department alerted the public that Dueck would be moving to the area, including a photo of him.

He would reoffend within a month, assaulting another young victim.

Kelowna RCMP said last week that it "sought" to disclose Dueck's release to the public, but the "threshold was not met."

The detachment did not say which agency decided not to alert the public, however, and said it would "encourage" iNFOnews.ca to reach out to BC Corrections.

On behalf of BC Corrections, the Ministry of Public Safety said the RCMP has the ability to alert the public without input from other agencies.

iNFOnews.ca put that statement to BC RCMP, which still would not explicitly state why the public was not notified of Dueck's release.

BC RCMP spokesperson Staff Sgt. Kris Clark said there is a "rigorous test" done before the public is notified of a person that may be a risk to reoffend. He pointed to legislation that stipulates the public interest must outweigh an invasion of privacy.

He said he would not, however, comment on Dueck's case because he's now in court again.

"To be clear, I can’t say that the RCMP was the appropriate agency to issue a (public interest disclosure) in this case. For an RCMP-led (disclosure), the authority to approve the disclosure rests with the (commanding officer), however, the test is applied by an investigative team under the advice and guidance of subject matter experts," Clark said in an emailed statement.

The ministry investigation will examine decision making by BC Corrections and RCMP, but it's not clear how long it will take.

Dueck remains behind bars and waiting for a judge to decide whether he'll be released on bail.

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