Campaign started to remove high-risk offender in King Township

A poster warning of high-risk offender Keith Theodore Constantin can be seen in King Township, Ont. on Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. (Mike Walker/ CTV Barrie)

When word got out that high-risk offender Keith Theodore Constantin was released on parole in King Township, Susan Porter started a social media campaign to have him removed.

Posters with Constantin's photos and criminal record line the main street in Schomberg, while an online petition to have him relocated has more than 1,500 signatures.

"Putting him in the community of children I don't think that was well thought out," Porter says.

Constantin is out on parole after serving a four year sentence for sexual assault with a weapon. He is staying at a group home in a rural area, and police stress he's under constant supervision.

"He will have employees at the facility supervising him 24-7,” says York Regional Police Const. Laura Nicole. “He is also required to remain inside the residence at all times a side from schedule appointments."

A message police tried to get out to several hundred people at a meeting on Sunday – a heads up that's common in a case like this, according to experts.

"If the individual has served his or her time, they can't hold them any longer than that, but if experts deem them a high risk to reoffend, than police err on the side of caution and tell the public this individual is living in their limits," says Chris Lewis, CTV News’ public safety analyst.

That's not good enough for those who believe Constantin shouldn't be out on parole.

“If something happens to one of these children, I think we all are to blame. I look around – I coach some of these kids. I would hate to see anything happen to any one of them,” one man said at Sunday’s meeting.

King Township’s mayor is confident police will protect the community from Constantin, but concerned residents say they won't give up their fight and are planning a protest in the future.