Police fear man acquitted of 'sleepwatcher' charges will commit crime in St. John's

A man with a lengthy criminal record who was also once accused of a string of notorious voyeurism offences in Halifax is now living in St. John's, where he has attracted the attention of police.

Barry Edward Sinclair was found not guilty in 2012 of charges related to the so-called "sleepwatcher" case in Nova Scotia.

But a judge there convicted Sinclair of another break-in, and sentenced him to five years imprisonment. He's served that time.

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Now, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is worried that he will re-offend, and is going to court under a section of the Criminal Code related to crimes that could potentially happen.

In court documents, the RNC says it has reasonable grounds to believe that Sinclair "will commit a serious personal injury offence."

The police want a judge to impose a type of peace bond against him.

Sinclair, 55, appeared at provincial court in St. John's Monday morning. His scheduled hearing was postponed, and the matter will be back in court later in October.

5 federal prison terms

Sinclair's criminal history dates back to 1980, and includes five federal prison terms.

That's according to Parole Board of Canada documents obtained by CBC News.

Sinclair has been convicted of property offences, impaired driving, four counts of being unlawfully in a dwelling, three counts of trespassing at night, break and enter, sexual assaultand criminal harassment. Other similar charges have been withdrawn, or resulted in acquittals.

According to the Parole Board, Sinclair spent most of the two decades between 1984 and 2003 under the supervision of the Correctional Service of Canada.

It acknowledged a gap in his record from 2003 to 2011.

But the board noted: "Police reported several incidents of an unknown male in a dwelling house or bedroom in a certain area of the city between 2004 and 2011 and report that such incidents ceased after your September 2011 arrest."

Not guilty in 'sleepwatcher' trial

Sinclair was charged at that time with voyeurism-related offences linked to the "sleepwatcher" case.

Evidence presented during the trial included a video seized from Sinclair's home, which contained recordings of women undressing in their apartments.

The judge ruled that there was insufficient proof that Sinclair actually made the recordings, and acquitted him.

However, Sinclair was found guilty of committing another break-in.

A woman who lived in a Halifax apartment woke up when she heard her bedroom door open, and saw a shadowy figure, who fled.

Sinclair left a key piece of evidence his cell phone behind. It was found in a mop bucket in the woman's apartment.

He received a five-year sentence.

Sent back to jail

In the fall of 2015, while serving his time, Sinclair was granted conditional release to live in a halfway house somewhere in Canada.

But a year after that, he ended up back in jail.

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He provided a urine sample that tested positive for cocaine, according to Parole Board of Canada records.

When halfway house staff collected his personal items, they "found a box containing various items which caused concern."

That included "photos of women and girls and news articles regarding murders of female victims," according to the Parole Board of Canada.

Permission of attorney general required

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary filed documents at provincial court in February alleging its belief that Sinclair "will commit a serious personal injury offence."

The application appears to be rare there are no other similar ones scheduled on the provincial court docket anywhere in Newfoundland and Labrador for the next 365 days.

The police need the permission of the attorney general to file such an information with the court.

In March, Sinclair signed an undertaking, agreeing to abide by a series of conditions in the interim.

Those included an overnight curfew, staying away from any place that children under 16 are likely to be present, and refraining from contact with female real estate agents.

There is no information in the court file about how or why Sinclair ended up living in Newfoundland.