Federal sex offender registry survives challenge in B.C. Court of Appeal

The B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled a convicted sex offender's Charter rights weren't being violated when he was ordered to add his name to the registry almost two years after he was sentenced.

The sex offender - identified as S.S.C. in the judgment released Thursday - was sentenced in May 2003 to six months in the community and two years' probation after pleading guilty to sexual touching involving five girls from the ages of seven to 12.

When the Sex Offender Information Registration Act came into force in December 2004, the man was still serving his sentence and was required to add his name to the registry for life. He applied to a lower court for an exemption and mounted the appeal after his exemption was refused.

The man argued the legislation was overly broad because it involves lifetime registration of low-risk offenders, which offends his liberty and privacy interests.

But the court quashed the appeal, ruling the legislation is neither overly broad or disproportionate, in part because it is available only to law enforcement agencies.

The sex offender registry has survived a number of constitutional challenges since it came into force Dec. 15, 2004.

An Ontario appeal court justice ruled in April 2008 that the public's right to safety trumps any potential infringements on an offender's freedoms, saying appearing on the list doesn't impede a person from "doing anything or going anywhere."

In June 2007 a B.C. Supreme Court judge dismissed challenges from three convicted sex offenders who objected to registering under the act.

One argued registration was a punishment over and above the sentence for his crime and infringed on his Charter rights; another argued the requirement to register creates a reverse onus that is contrary to the principles of fundamental justice.