Halifax high-risk offender back in jail after using cocaine and having photos of women

A high-risk sexual offenderis back in jail after the Parole Board of Canada found he had started using cocaine and kept a box of photos of women and girls.

Barry EdwardSinclairwas sentenced in 2013 for breaking into a south-end Halifax apartment, after being acquitted of five voyeurism chargesthe previous fall for accusations that he watchedwomen sleep.

In Oct. 2015, he was released with conditions to liveina halfway house somewhere in Canada.

A board decisionreleased Thursdaysaid the mannow poses "an undue risk to society." The boardrevoked his statutory release on Oct. 31.

Before Sinclair's arrest about four years ago,more than a dozen women in the south end told police of waking up to find a man watching or touching them. The board decision alleges police said about a decade of similar reports also stopped with his arrest.

During an early August search, halfway house staff found Sinclair kept a box of photos of women and girls, and newspaper clippings about the murders of female victims.

He "adamantly" denied he owned the box's contents.

Sinclair also had started using cocaine, but hadn't told his case manager he was once again struggling with addiction.

'Risk was increasing'

When he tested positive on a urine test, he said he used the drug for headache pain relief because THC in marijuana stayed in the body longer.

"Your return to substance use is an indication that your attitude had once again become negative," the board wrote.

It showed his "risk was increasing," as Sinclair had used alcohol and drugs while committing crimes in the past.

Such consumption was banned under his release conditions.

Prior to this, his behaviour was "considered appropriate" aside fromneeding reminders to call the halfway house at lunch.

Sinclair told case managers he spent time with family and friends, and riding a motorcycle he said he bought with funds saved before being imprisoned. People believed he was "doing well," the board said.

'Dismal' record

Considered a high-risk sex offender, Sinclair's criminal history dates back to 1980 and involves impaired driving, trespass, voyeurism, break and enter, sexual assault and criminal harassment.

He's also had a "dismal" record of breaking previous release conditions before, the board said.

Once, he committed sexual assault, and another time stole a vehicle, documents say. Earlier board documents show he was at risk of sexually assaulting after stalking a female volunteer at a halfway house on Windmill Road.

Previous board reports illustrate a traumatizing life. Sinclair was sexually abused and badly beaten by family as a boy. He alsomay have suffered brain damage from aseriousaccident.Of Indigenous ancestry, he did not follow traditional ways, the board observed.

Now in his mid-fifties, Sinclair refused specialized sex offender rehabilitation while incarcerated. Upon release, he did participate in a sex offender course, but not at the "high intensity" recommended.

"Your skills and tools related to your ability to manage your risk factors require further support and development, especially related to deviancy related to unknown female victims," the board said in its decision.

• Parole board worries 'just how far' south-end voyeur will go