Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls it “atrocious.”

That was Ford’s reaction via Twitter to my column explaining how sex offenders can get name changes, regardless of how heinous their crimes.

“Brian, I agree this is atrocious. I am looking into this,” Ford tweeted in response to the column.

We can’t expect changes tomorrow, but it is good that the government is at least willing to look into it.

I started asking questions after the Saskatchewan government announced it would change the law after a series of high-profile stories including one by the Toronto Sun’s Brad Hunter on an egregious pervert.

Strange as it may seem, there is currently nothing in Ontario law stopping sex offenders from legally changing their names, effectively erasing their history.

“A criminal charge or conviction does not prohibit a person from changing their name,” said Nicko Vavassis, press secretary to Consumer Services Minister Lisa Thompson.

“Applicants must comply with the requirements set out in Section 6 of the Change of Name Act, which includes disclosing criminal offences.”

I double checked with Vavassis that the same requirements applied to “violent or dangerous offenders, or those on the sex offender registry.” The answer was the process is the same.

It all appears pretty simple: The province will look to see if you have a criminal record and if you do, then you are required to provide a police records check for any past or ongoing charges. That’s it, simply list them off.

Saskatchewan legislators are in the middle of closing that very loophole in their law after a series of high-profile child sex offenders changed their names. Provincial Justice Minister Don Morgan said earlier this month, that he found the cases in his province disturbing.

“The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health are currently examining changes to the application process, including not allowing a change of name where an offender has been convicted of committing specific sexual offences,” Morgan added.

The Saskatchewan case that Hunter wrote about involved a man named David Donald Shumey who returned to live in the province after 20 years in an American prison on a number of sexual offences involving children. He was able to legally change his name online.

Another repeat sexual offender was able to legally change his name after he was out of jail, but under investigation for additional sexual offences, involving children.

Some of these name changes were discovered by alert citizens reading through the provincial gazette where the moniker switch must be published. In Saskatchewan, there may only be a few name changes per publication and the date of birth and town the person lives in are

included in the publication.

In Ontario, there is simply the old name and the new name.

In the most recent Ontario Gazette, there were five full pages of name changes single-spaced, making it difficult to hunt for sex offenders looking to escape their past.

I haven’t found any incidents of sexual offenders changing their names in Ontario but if it has happened in tiny Saskatchewan, then it has happened here and the Ford government needs to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

People who commit the most heinous crimes, especially against our most vulnerable, can’t be allowed to escape from their past by changing their names. We are talking about men who have committed horrific crimes against children for their own sexual gratification.

Allowing them a name change gives them a shot at a new life, something their victims will not get.

Related

Rogues Gallery

Adam Laboucan was a 17-year-old man when he brutally raped a three-month-old baby in 1999. The baby was so badly injured that surgery was required. Laboucan underwent gender reassignment surgery while in prison and is now known as Tara Desousa. She is kept behind bars as a dangerous offender.

Kevin Daniel Hudec was a repeat sexual offender who was the first person in Saskatchewan to be designated a “longterm offender” in 2016. Despite this, the man was able to change his name to Gabriel Michael Fisher in 2018. Shortly after the name change went through, Fisher was arrested and charged with both possessing and making child pornography.

Justin Gerard Gryba was convicted of possessing and making child pornography in 2012 and again in 2016. Thousands of images and videos were found on his computer, including images of young boys changing at a youth program Gryba volunteered at. Still, the 31-year-old was able to legally change his name in 2018 to Justin William Pasloski.

David Donald Shumey is a 76-year-old man who recently came back to Canada after spending 20 years in a U.S. prison for various sex offences dating back to the mid-’90s. He was arrested in Las Vegas and charged with 88 different counts ranging from child pornography to sexual assault. When he was freed from jail, Shumey moved home to Regina and legally changed his name to David Donald Stryker.