Over the last few weeks, Albertan protesters have targeted men on bail accused of crimes against children. They say the criminal justice system is broken, but others warn it’s vigilantism, and it’s dangerous.
Triumphant protesters sang last week as Edmonton police officers escorted accused child predator Wade Stene from his mother’s home into a police van and back to jail.
Protesters had spent two weeks keeping watch on the bungalow in the McQueen neighbourhood after Stene was released on bail under house arrest near his alleged eight-year-old victim. His address was posted on social media.
But when Stene asked to go back to jail for his own safety, many protesters didn’t go home.
Instead, they headed 12 kilometres north where another demonstration had erupted outside the residence of Donald George Dupuis in St. Albert, Alta. The high-risk offender was said to be living near his victim after serving 12 months for sexual interference of a child.
Within days, news spread that Dupuis had moved out of the neighbourhood, but protesters aren’t done.
The People vs. Predators Facebook page, previously named The People vs. Wade Stene page, has amassed nearly 3,000 members and is organizing another protest Saturday in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. That’s where Damien Christopher Starrett — who was charged with second-degree murder in the death of his one-year-old son Ares — is out on bail.
Dozens of supporters on Facebook said they planned to attend. Others on the page shared their own personal stories or opinions about child predators and frustrations with a criminal justice system many suggested is broken.
The people vs. Wade Stene
Last March, Stene allegedly pulled an eight-year-old girl he didn’t know into a vehicle, sexually assaulted her, then dropped her off in the McQueen neighbourhood. Ten days later, police charged him with kidnapping, sexual assault with a weapon and threats causing death or bodily harm. Court records show it’s Stene’s first offence in Alberta.
On June 16, Justice Douglas Mah granted Stene bail after a provincial court judge denied his release a month earlier.
In a public warning, Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said Stene posed a significant risk of harm to the community.
Police later explained to CBC News that they have a duty to warn the public about significant health and safety risks, citing Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation, as well as common law rule.
That warning set off alarm bells in the McQueen neighbourhood where some residents told CBC News that initially the community was united in wanting Stene out.
Zak Gladue, who has a daughter and lives just outside McQueen, said he protested at Stene’s residence for 13 days because of “a bad call on behalf of the justice system.”
“I feel the victims don’t have a voice,” Gladue said in an interview. “It’s about community coming together and realizing if there’s a problem, we can fix it.”
He emphasized that the protest should remain peaceful but said rocks and eggs were thrown after some outsiders turned up.
It’s about community coming together and realizing if there’s a problem, we can fix it.”– Zak Gladue
“That’s not what we’re about,” Gladue said. “We are a peaceful protest. We don’t want the violence. We don’t wish any harm against Mr. Stene or Mrs. Stene, and anybody who comes by here — if you’re coming by to cause problems, you’re not welcome.”
But some residents who spoke to CBC News said the protest became more aggressive, stretching on into the night, where an increasing number of protesters appeared to be outsiders. Some of those who raised c