Man convicted of teen’s 2001 death at Puslinch Lake back behind bars

A man convicted in the death and sexual assault of a teenager at Puslinch Lake is back behind bars. CTV’s Heather Senoran explains why.

A man convicted in the death and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl is back in prison.

Christopher Watts was found guilty of manslaughter, sexual assault and sexual interference in the 2001 death of Amanda Raymond.

His statutory release was revoked by the Parole Board of Canada last month.

“[Correctional Service of Canada] recommends that the [Parole Board of Canada] revoke your statutory release, based on your lack of transparency, return to possession of pornography less than two months after your release, and failure to report a potential relationship,” the parole board’s decision stated.

They also noted victim impact statements in 2003, and more recently in 2022 and 2025, demonstrate Watts’ actions continue to cause “clear and ongoing emotional and mental trauma.”

History of the case

Raymond died at a party at Watts’ home on Puslinch Lake.

The parole board previously said he gave the teen drugs, including Percocet, OxyContin, speed and ecstasy.

Raymond went into a drug-induced coma and Watts refused to let anyone else at the party call for help. While she was unconscious, Watts undressed the girl and sexually assaulted her, wrote obscene words on her body, and took photographs and video.

After he left, Raymond stopped breathing and someone finally called 911. The teen was pronounced dead shortly after.

Conviction and long-term supervision order

Watts was convicted in 2003 and sentenced to 12 years behind bars, followed by a 10-year long term supervision order (LTSO).

He is now a registered sex offender.

Watts completed his custodial sentence in 2015 and began the LTSO. However, that order was suspended approximately a dozen times and he is also serving a subsentence of two years, two months and eight days for breaching the LTSO. Some of the reasons for the suspensions include using electronic devices and the internet, possession of inappropriate written material and photographs, having an undisclosed cell phone, having pictures of women and girls (some of whom were involved in his criminal history), not being transparent about where he went within the community, allegedly threatening a staff member, contacting someone from the 2003 no-contact list, going to places were children could be present, and inappropriate interactions with teenage girls or young women.

Most of the suspensions did not result in any additional criminal charges and ended after 90 days. With only one exception, Watts’ releases between suspensions lasted three months or less.

After resuming his LTSO in 2023, Watts was discovered working alongside teenaged girls without having informed his parole officer. He also did not tell management about his criminal history.

“The judge noted your diagnosis of psychopathy and called you a career criminal and a cunning and voracious sexual predator, who appeared defiant and without guilt or remorse,” the parole board’s decision said.

Statutory release

Watts, who is now 65, received a statutory release in November 2025. By law, federal offenders who have served two-thirds of a fixed-length sentence are given statutory release. At that point, they serve what is left of their sentence in the community and must regularly report to a parole officer and follow strict conditions. The Parole Board of Canada can also revoke a statutory release, meaning the offender returns to prison.

When Watts was released, he lived at a community-based residential facility in the Rideau-Vanier area where he had previously stayed. Ottawa Police also sent out a notice that Watts, a high-risk offender, was in the community.

He had to follow several conditions, including not being within 50 metres of a place where children under the age of 18 were likely to gather, or be around any girls under the age of 18 unless he was accompanied by an adult who had been approved by his parole officer.

Watts was also not allowed to go to Toronto, Kingston or Kitchener-Waterloo unless he had written permission from his parole supervisor.

Recent incidents

In January, a staff member at the facility where Watts was staying took a USB stick from him. They said it had two pictures of nude young women saved on it.

Watts’ release was then suspended and he was re-arrested. Charges were not laid in that case and Watts accepted that he had engaged in prohibited behaviour, but claimed the pornography was not his.

In March, the parole board said Watts emailed a female librarian.

“You have described that you were seeking justification about the suspension of your access to the library, and that you believed the librarian had a romantic interest in you,” they noted in their decision.

The Correctional Service of Canada assessed Watts’ levels of accountability, motivation and reintegration potential as low.

He had also planned to return to the community-based residential facility where he had lived before, but that facility has said they will not take him.

In the decision to revoke his statutory release, the parole board said Watts presents an undue risk to society if released.