Further to a police report released by the Huntsville OPP Detachment on January 5 regarding a Huntsville resident facing charges related to sexual activity with a minor, the defendant’s ex-girlfriend contacted Huntsville Doppler to share information she believes members of the public should be aware of.
With the help of the former girlfriend, who asked not to be identified by name, Doppler has confirmed that the defendant, Kevin Cameron of Huntsville, had in fact been convicted of a similar crime in 2015. At that time, Cameron was 43, and pleaded guilty in a Huntsville courtroom to possession of child pornography and the sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old girl.
He was sentenced to 210 days in custody, two years of probation following his incarceration, and placed on the sex offender registry for life.
Police had become aware of Cameron’s activity when his ex-girlfriend handed police a laptop and DVD that Cameron had left behind containing 57 images and two movies containing child pornography. At the time, in speaking to the court, Crown attorney Ted Carlton noted that the investigating officer estimated the ages of the females and males in the material submitted to police ranged from seven to 13 years of age.
The court heard that the material involved mostly images of naked prepubescent children with at least one image of a prepubescent female engaged in a sexual act with an adult.
The court also heard that during the course of the investigation it was uncovered that Cameron had had an encounter with a minor. The victim was interviewed by police and recounted an incident that occurred in the basement of a Huntsville home when she was 16.
She had had difficulties at home and ended up in Cameron’s house in 2007. The court also heard that prior to the incident in question the pair had engaged in “sexual talk” and on the day in question, both had removed their pants and underwear and Cameron had touched her between the legs. At the time, the court also heard, no penetration had occurred and the encounter ended when someone in the house called them.
The incident was described by Carlton as a “serious violation of her sexual integrity” at a time when she had sought refuge in Cameron’s home during a difficult time in her life.
Then, six years later, on January 5, 2021 police issued a release noting that they’d received a complaint from Cypertip.ca in late December regarding a young person having intimate contact with an adult male. As a result of the investigation, Kevin Cameron, 49, of Huntsville was charged with luring a person under 18 and luring a person under 16 by means of telecommunication, as well as distributing sexually explicit material to a person under 18.
News of the incident prompted the ex-girlfriend, who had handed Cameron’s computer and DVD to police six years ago, to contact Doppler. She said she was shocked to see his name come up again.
With hindsight, she said perhaps the fact that they had both suffered abuse growing up had brought them together. She said at the time there were definitely alarm bells about his behaviour but she was in denial and dealing with her own mental health.
“I never thought I’d end up with a pedophile,” she said, adding that despite the initial conviction six years ago, no one seemed to take it very seriously. She said he still frequented sporting events where young people were present.
“He never really had to pay for it. He just kind of went back under the protection of those who supported him and had his face all over the place,” she said. “It’s been six years and if no other victims come forward I will be very surprised …I don’t want to be front stage but I need to do something. I cannot sit in silence.”
In follow-up correspondence with the Huntsville OPP Detachment, Community Safety Officer Jeff Handsor said he could not speak specifically to the incident related to Cameron as it was still before the courts, despite him having been convicted for similar offences in 2015.
When asked via email correspondence what happens when someone is placed on the sex offender registry, he said the Ontario Sex Offender Registry, which is located and maintained in the Orillia OPP headquarters, links to the National Sex Offender Registry maintained by the RCMP.
“The information in the National Sex Offender Registry is used only for the purposes of police investigations of a sexual nature and as authorized by law.” He said the registry provides Canadian police services “with important information that improves their ability to investigate crimes of sexual nature.
“The Ontario registry proactively notifies police services of sex offenders in their respective community. A conviction for any criteria sex offence as legislated in Christopher’s Law (Sex Offender Registry), 2000. The offender is automatically mandated to register. If the information has been entered in error, their information is deleted from the registry.
“The Ontario Sex Offender Registry is designed to make police aware of who the sex offenders are in their area and improves their ability to investigate sex-related crimes, as well as monitor and locate sex offenders in the community. It establishes a relationship between police and an offender which is useful in terms of investigations and crime prevention. The registry is an excellent investigative tool. It provides police with an offender’s last known location and there are also provisions to enter an offender’s name into the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database, to obtain a warrant or to lay charges for not abiding by the law,” he stated.
“The courts also recognizing the significance of non-compliance by imposing significant sentences on non-compliant convicted sex offenders. The offender is required to register annually, and within 7 days notify their local police of any information that changes in order to remain in compliance. Police proactively determine if an offender has been truthful and accurate in providing the required information. If offenders are found to have misled investigators or are not complying with conditions placed upon them by Criminal Courts, offenders will be brought before the Courts on additional charges.”
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!
Click here to support local news
Dan Thomson says
by allowing these people to “have their rights” and “due process” more young people will cycle thru the same world of re-offending. I have seen this so many times. The system needs to be pro-active and follow up on all signs of inappropriate behavior. Which can be dangerous in the wrong hands. We cannot let this go un-checked.