Canada-wide warrant for sex offender who failed to return to Vancouver halfway house

Dean Robert Merrick is shown in this photo provided by the Vancouver Police Department.

Warning: This story contains details readers may find disturbing

A convicted sex offender is wanted Canada-wide after failing to return to a Vancouver halfway house Wednesday.

Dean Robert Merrick served an 18-year prison sentence for sexual offences before being released on a long-term supervision order, according to authorities.

“Shortly before 9:30 a.m. this morning, Merrick left the halfway house to attend an appointment on Commercial Drive,” The Vancouver Police Department said in a statement.

“He failed to return, and a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest.”

Merrick stands 6’2” tall and weighs approximately 200 pounds, police said, adding that he may be wearing a black jacket, white T-shirt, green cargo pants and a black baseball hat. He also has tattoos, including a flag and a cowboy on his left arm, according to police

Anyone who sees him or who has information about his whereabouts is urged to call 911 immediately.

Convictions for ‘brutal’ crimes

Merrick was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2002 after being convicted of sexual assault with a weapon and breaking and entering to commit a sexual assault, according to a decision published online. The sentencing judge also declared Merrick a long-term offender and imposed a 10-year supervision order, beginning in 2020.

In 1999, Merrick broke into a home in Kelowna early in the morning while the residents were still sleeping, according to the sentencing decision. He cut the telephone line before busting through a locked patio door and removed his pants before entering a bedroom where a man and woman were sleeping. He was armed with a knife, according to the decision.

After making the man who lived in the home tie himself up with an electrical cord, he took the woman to the bathroom where he repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped her at knifepoint, according to the decision.

“This was a brutal rape with a weapon by a repeat offender who had committed the same offence eight years earlier in similar brutal circumstances,” the judge wrote.

“Mr. Merrick’s victim was subjected to severe physical, emotional and psychological trauma during the offence.”

The victim in the previous home invasion and rape was a female relative, the decision said. In that case, he held a loaded gun to the woman’s head and sexually assaulted her repeatedly.

“The circumstances of that sexual assault showed planning and deliberation and included the forced confinement and handcuffing of his victim in her own home,” the judge wrote.

Merrick was sentenced to four years and six months after pleading guilty to sexual assault with a weapon.

In addition to the convictions for sex crimes, Merrick’s record included multiple offences dating back to when he was 17. Property crimes like theft and break-ins were common, and linked to and fueled by his addictions to cocaine and alcohol, according to the decision. He also had a previous assault conviction from 1991, stemming from an incident with “sexual overtones,” where the victim was a young woman at a bus stop. He was also found guilty of assaulting his common-law female partner in 1997, the decision said.

Crown was seeking to have Merrick designated a dangerous offender during the 2002 sentencing proceedings, which would have seen him receive an indeterminate sentence.

The judge declined to make that designation.

“Mr. Merrick has committed heinous, brutal sexual offences of a similar type approximately 8 years apart. He has previously participated in sex offender as well as drug and treatment programs and counselling, all of which failed to prevent the commission of the index offences,” the decision said.

“There remains a risk that Mr. Merrick will commit a violent sexual offence in the future. That is not, however, the legal test for the determination of whether an offender must be declared to be a dangerous offender under the (Criminal Code of Canada).”

If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:

• Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety.
• The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres' website has a comprehensive list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling.
• The Ending Violence Association of Canada‘s website has links to helplines, support services and locations across Canada that offer sexual assault kits.
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society crisis lines: [phone] or [phone] (24/7)
• Toronto Rape Crisis Centre crisis line: [phone] (24/7)
• Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: [phone] (24/7)
• Trans Lifeline: [phone]
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)
• Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre for current and former Canadian Armed Forces members: [phone]
• Read about your rights as a victim on the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime website.