High-risk sex offender expected to live in Winnipeg after release
William Astle has history of breaching release conditions, sexual offences dating back to 1969
Winnipeg police are warning the public about the release of a sex offender who is considered a high risk to reoffend against young girls.
William Rupert Astle, 82, was released from the Winnipeg Remand Centre on Thursday. Police expect he'll live in Winnipeg.
Astle was arrested in October for failing to abide by the conditions of his parole, just over a month after he was released from Stony Mountain Institution. He had been sentenced to four years for indecent exposure to a person under 16 years of age and failure to comply with a probation order.
He's subject to bail conditions and two lifetime orders prohibiting him from going to public parks, daycare centres, school grounds, playgrounds, community centres or swimming areas where people under 16 could be present.
Astle has a history of failing to abide by release conditions, police said.
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"He has breached the conditions of his release twice during his current period of incarceration. Breaches occurred within days of release," a police news release said.
Astle has multiple convictions for indecent exposure and assault related to children dating back to 1969. He has also been convicted of sexual interference over a 10-year period from 1990 to 2000 involving a girl who was known to him.
He was convicted in 2006 for that offence, in addition to three others in which he masturbated in public in the presence of adolescent girls, and served a sentence of one year and nine months before being released.
In 2009, he was convicted again for indecent exposure after exposing himself while watching two young girls playing in a backyard.
Police said the release is being made public to allow people to take suitable measures to protect themselves. Any form of "vigilante activity" or unreasonable conduct toward Astle will not be tolerated, the release said.
Anyone with information about Astle is asked to contact the Winnipeg Police Service at 204-986-6222, your local RCMP detachment or Manitoba Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477 or toll free at 1-800-222-8477.