St. Thomas man, 80, arrested twice in one week after showing up at pool, say police

Parents are concerned in St. Thomas as an 80-year-old man visited the local pool twice. CTV London’s Bryan Bicknell reports.

St. Thomas Police Service says an 80 year old man was arrested not once, but twice last week, accused of breaching his release order by showing up at a local pool.

Parent Deanna Hauglum, whose family attends Jaycees Pool, says it’s enough to make some parents uneasy about their children’s whereabouts and well-being.

“It makes you nervous for those kids that might be a little older, but not quite old enough to be on their own. Might be walking home after they’ve attended swimming lessons, or after they’ve come with a group of friends. It certainly makes me nervous that they’re around the vicinity, where there’s so many impressionable young kids and vulnerable kids in this area,” said Hauglum.

According to police, on Saturday an 80 year old St. Thomas man was arrested for breaching a release order by attending a local pool.

Police said they found out after being alerted by the GPS Monitoring service.

One mother attending Jaycees Pool on Monday, who did not want to be identified, says keeping children safe and active can be a difficult balance.

“It does make me feel a little bit uneasy about my kids being in more public spaces. It’s hard because you want to protect them. But at the same time, they do need to be… they do want to do activities in public, and there’s only so much you can do to keep them safe,” she said.

Saturday’s arrest was the second such incident in less than a week for the accused individual, said police.

The first time it happened was last Tuesday, Aug 12, when the man was arrested for breaching his conditions by going to a pool. He was taken into custody but then released, but this time, fitted with a GPS monitoring device.

Parent Gavin Saunders lives across the street from Jaycees Pool. He says he’s glad the monitoring device worked the way it was meant to.

“As long as he’s wearing an ankle bracelet and the police know where his whereabouts are at all times, then I think that’s a matter for them to deal with, for sure,” said Saunders.

Police said in a news release the suspect appeared in court via video over the weekend.