An “extremely dangerous” Okanagan Falls man’s freedom must be curtailed to protect the public, a Crown counsellor argued this week.
That man, Ronald Teneycke, appeared at the Penticton courthouse on Wednesday to face the crown application for a Section 810.2 order.
It’s contained in the Criminal Code, but is not a criminal charge. Rather, it’s a way for Crown to have restrictions and controls put on a person they fear will commit a serious offence.
If approved by a judge, the order can put conditions on Teneycke for up to two years.
“Based on Mr. Teneycke’s violent past and the fact he is an untreated sexual offender and the numerous psychiatric assessments, the application is justified,” said Crown counsel John Swanson.
Teneycke has a long criminal history, including a 2010 conviction for three counts of uttering threats, dangerous driving and fleeing a peace officer. He was sentenced to 14 months in jail and given the maximum probation allowed of three years. Before the probation was due to end, Crown presented the 810.2 application. On June 26, Teneycke was before a judge and released back into the community with nine bail conditions imposed upon him including an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew until the 810.2 hearing takes place.
“Absolutely there is no doubt that if he is not placed under reasonable restrictions, Mr. Teneycke will re-offend,” said Swanson.
Judge Gale Sinclair agreed to adjust Teneycke’s curfew to midnight to 6 a.m., but the remaining conditions will stay until the hearing.
Swanson said the 810.2 order is justified because although it’s been 20 years since Teneycke committed violent crimes, those offences were on the “serious end of the spectrum.”
Teneycke spent 12 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old Okanagan Falls girl.
Parole documents said he “brutalized and tortured” the teen for five hours. Extra time was tacked on to that sentence when he uttered threats to a parole officer while behind bars. Once released, he returned to live in Oliver then moved to Okanagan Falls and breached his probation multiple times.
Teneycke wants to move to an acreage in rural Oliver to work on a ranch. He currently lives with his elderly mother in Okanagan Falls and wants the freedom to be able to go between the two places in case he needs to assist his mother.
Defence counsel Michael Welsh said Teneycke was put on the three-year probation in 2010 and has complied with all of those conditions for the duration.
Judge Sinclair, who has sat for many of Teneycke’s trials and court appearances, said both lawyers neglected to mention a “considerable hiccup” the 51-year-old man had last year when he was charged with the sexual assault of a Penticton woman but was acquitted at trial. Swanson said because Teneycke was acquitted, that information would not be provided during the hearing.
“It has been a long and arduous road for Mr. Teneycke and the public and I have to balance his interests versus the public,” said Sinclair.
A hearing date for the 810.2 application is to be set today.