Update: He is back in custody.
Brendon Wayne Spurrell, a convicted child predator awaiting trial for sex assault and death threats, has been accidentally released from custody after an administrative error, this newspaper has learned.
Spurrell, 22, was on trial Friday at the Ottawa courthouse for breach of probation and was found guilty. He was then supposed to remain in custody awaiting trial on charges of death threats, sex assault, assault and auto theft.
But due to an unknown administrative error, Spurrell was set free by mistake sometime between Friday and Sunday.
It’s not known if the sex offender was accidentally released from the Elgin Street courthouse or the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre.
Regardless, Spurrell has been set free by accident and the Ottawa police are asking for the public’s help to find the fugitive they describe as dangerous.
The police issued a press release this week saying they were trying to locate the wanted man but didn’t mention his convictions, charges, or that he had been accidentally released from custody.
In the statement asking for the public’s help to find Spurrell, the police also issued a warning, saying: “Please do not approach him.”
Instead, police asked the public to call 911.
The court has issued a warrant for his arrest, ruling it was “necessary in the public interest.”
Spurrell is white, about 5’10” and 160 pounds. He has short black hair and blue eyes.
In February 2019, Spurrell was sentenced to two years in prison for raping a minor after he met her online. He won parole the same year but then was later charged with more crimes, including another sexual assault.
Provincial officials are investigating how Spurrell was accidentally released from custody.
via Ottawa child predator set free by accident | Ottawa Citizen
