"James Cardno, 46, was charged in March with eight sex crimes against four children. Surrey RCMP issued a warning Tuesday morning that the accused child molester is living in Fraser Heights while he awaits his court hearing next month.
Photograph by: submitted, for Surrey NOW"
So I received an email from my local school indicating that there was an 'Important' letter that I needed to read. Inside I found that they were telling parents about a pedeophile who was living in our neighbourhood.
While they did not identify him a quick google search found the first article and a picture.
Here is what I do not understand: JAMES CARDNO was arrested by Surrey RCMP in March 2011. It is now MAY! For the last 8 weeks this child sex offender has been living in my neighbourhood.
In this day and age of mass communication tools this is unacceptable. Surrey RCMP could have and should have warned the residents of Fraser Heights that this dirt bag was living here. He could be renting a basement suite. He could be living in a room and board situation where he has ample access to kids.
He could be scoping out his next victim at the Rexall or Nester food market. He could be nestled into the tree line at any of the 5 elementary schools watching.
Pedeophilia is not curable and I am seriously angry that Surrey RCMP decided that they did not have tell parents about a predator in their midst. There are enough dangers that we do not know about lurking around the corner.
As a parent I worry about my kids playing outside and do not allow them to without supervision.
It is reprehensible that Surrey RCMP KNEW about a potent risk to my children and did not tell me or any other parent in this community.
Shame on JAMES CARDNO for being a sick pedeophile and ruining children's lives. And shame on the Surrey RCMP for delaying releasing this dirt bag's name and location.
You can call the Surrey RCMP and let them know how annoyed you are about their 2 month delay in announcing this guy's name. But I suspect the real issue is the fact that Crown Counsel sat on the information and did not give charge approval (which allows the RCMP to publish warnings) for 2 months.
Call your local MP and let them know how you feel about having a sex offender in your neighbourhood without knowledge. For Fraser Heights that is Nina Grewal (Con) and she can be reached at 604-501-5900.
3 comments:
To be honest I know Mr. Cardno quite well and I was absolutely shocked at the charges. However these sort of people are the last people we would ever suspect.
I have of course been following the courts quite closely and have received multiple calls from police and have bent over backwards to help them in any way that I can. The best way to sort out problems like this is of course transparency. If the man is guilty, he is guilty and should be convicted. If the man is innocent, the facts will bear him out, if not in trial then in appeal.
I can tell you though that he is on a $100,000 bond made by his parents against their home. He is forced to live with his parents and is allowed to have no contact with computers, cell phones, or be placed in any contact with children whatsoever, any breach will land him in jail and cost his parents a hundred grand.
In knowing him well enough (although I havent had much contact with him since this has started) I know that he hasnt been breaching any of the terms of his release and he has lost his job and only trade. What funds he has left are being used to pay lawyers and legal fees. Plus the police are watching him and have done many interviews with potential victims.
So the risk to people in your community I would say is extremely low.
While I mean him no ill will, I sure as hell hope he is guilty because the RCMP have dragged his personal reputation through the mud so bad he's lost his job, most of his friends, his hobbies, and virtually everything else. If he turns out to be innocent then they have destroyed a man. If he turns out to be guilty then the RCMP have done an excellent job.
Remember it is a very fine line for the RCMP in these cases. To release information opens up people to criticisms like yours and destroys lives; if they do this improperly they can cause innocent people a lot of trouble.
However I am quite troubled. They seem to have a lot of evidence and if they didnt have good confidence in the evidence then they would have never released any of this information. While I know Mr. Cardno and found him to be generally likeable, I also find offenses against children and minors to be reprehensible.
Let the courts do their work.
I understand due process and know why the police delayed releasing his name. My main complaint is the fact that this sat with Crown Counsel for 8 weeks before getting charge approval. There are multiple victims - it is HIGHLY unlikely that they are in a conspiracy to make up a story to wreck James Cardno's life.... what is much more likely is that he is a predator pedeophile who has assaulted multiple children over a period of time.
I don't need to wait for years for a trial to be held in order to say what I think about this guy being in my neighbourhood. The likelihood is that he is guilty and everyday that he is near my children and not in jail is a day too long.
Someone needs to be responsible for holding this information and if a child had been assaulted during those 8 weeks waiting for charge approval then I suggest the Crown is morally and legally responsible for liability.
Sorry it has taken me so long to respond.
You state in your comment (Tassi) that: "There are multiple victims - it is HIGHLY unlikely that they are in a conspiracy to make up a story to wreck James Cardno's life.... what is much more likely is that he is a predator pedeophile who has assaulted multiple children over a period of time."
Regardless of how many potential victims are involved, these are very serious allegations and they must be proven in court. If ten youths got together and accused you of sexually assaulting all of them, then the police would have to handle this the very same way, and you would be very thankful for due process so you could defend yourself and present evidence to the contrary, at the very least, prior to the police releasing your photo in the media to have people such as yourself start writing articles such as, "Theres a predator in our midst".
I do not intend to encumber your right to freedom of speech - but you must realize you are testing the boundaries of freedom of speech; and that boundary is called libel. Until the courts convict Mr. Cardno he is innocent until proven guilty.
That said, I do hope that the courts and the police do the best job that they can. By that I mean the best job to gather quality evidence, be fair and accountable, and to present as solid of a case as they can, else drop the charges if they cannot produce solid quality evidence.
Always remember, if the shoe was on the other foot, and it was you who was the accused, the very same due process that you are complaining of in this article you would be thanking your lucky stars that you live in Canada where this process is how the justice system works.
While the courts and police do sometimes make mistakes; convicting the innocent and letting off the guilty, we have our system for a reason.
Also, do not underestimate the contriving of a group of 10-20 youths. In today's modern society with social media and communications at light speed, you would be truly surprised at the pettiness upon which today's youth can encumber one with their vindictiveness and speed. I am not saying that the allegations are false, the answer to that I do not know and hope that the courts learn and decide, but I myself have seen how youth can swarm a person physically, mentally, or online and make allegations to destroy someone in a very bully-like fashion.
As Hitler said, "a lie, repeated enough, becomes the truth". This technique was used very successfully by Karl Rove in the GW Bush elections, and is used by our current federal Conservative party to this day.
If he is guilty, I hope he goes to jail for a long time. If he is innocent, I feel for him very, very much because his character has already been destroyed swiftly, brutally, and efficiently, as your column here easily displays.
All I would ask that you remember, is that if the allegations were against you, that you would be very thankful for due process and caution on the part of the authorities.
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