Junior Spencer, a 30 year old pedophile, is considered a high risk to reoffend. He was part of child sex rings called The Company and The Family and was convicted of sex assaults against boys between the ages of 8 and 14 in addition to possessing and distributing child pornography between 1995 and 2005. These benevolent sounding groups helped pedophiles share images of child sex abuse and tips on luring. Mr. Spencer preyed on street kids and other children that he befriended while doing volunteer work. He forced them to have sex with other kids or adults while they were being filmed. Where is this criminal who will likely reoffend, you ask? He is free to roam the streets of Toronto because our criminal justice system has no teeth and he was only sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison for his crimes, even though he was not a first time offender. In fact he has spent the better part of the last 10 years in and out of jail. Mr. Spenser was not even a model prisoner. His involvement with The Company and The Family continued during his incarceration, yet he was still out in 2 ½ years. Isn’t that an absolute outrage?

Pedophilia can’t be cured, yet we release them into society in short order, and we keep insider stock traders in prison for the rest of their lives. Where is the justice in that? According to Dr. Herbert Wagemaker, board-certified psychiatrist and renowned author, “There is no cure, but there is treatment. It has been shown that the SSRI’s, Prozac®, Zoloft®, Celexa®, Luvox®, Paxil®, and Lexapro® , in high doses are also useful in treating this illness. Treatment of pedophilia is difficult at best. Many of these men remain untreated”.

The Toronto Police were required to notify the public of Junior Spencer’s release because of his high-risk designation. He is now living at a halfway house at Keele St. and Dundas St. On the advice of the police the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) sent a letter home with students from all of its 560 schools warning parents about Mr. Spencer’s release. If he is to remain free he must abide by 27 conditions including:

• He cannot have a computer, a BlackBerry, or a camera
• He can’t make contact with his twin brother, Stephen Spencer, who lives in Ottawa and was convicted along with Junior in 2000 for operating a child pornography ring out of jail
• He must keep in close contact with Circles of Support and Accountability, an agency that helps offenders stay clean and find a job
• He must keep in close contact with a group of psychologists and physicians to ensure that he is taking medication that reduces his sex drive
• He cannot hold any job that brings him in contact with children

Monitoring will continue for 10 years. All of this is fine and good. The reality is that the public has every reason to be afraid that Junior Spence is back on the streets. The true crime is that our legal system set him free.