A Kamloops sex offender who refused to check in last summer for his annual intake to the national sex offender registry has been ordered to spend the next two months on house arrest.
James Sweet, 38, pleaded guilty Thursday in Kamloops provincial court to one count of breaching a court order.
Court heard Sweet was sentenced in 2018 for a serious and violent sexual assault involving his former girlfriend. As part of his sentence, Sweet was ordered to register as a sex offender for 20 years.
After serving time in prison, Sweet registered as a sex offender as required in 2020 and 2021. He then failed to show up for his 2022 registration.
“He was supposed to register again, which would have been around July of 2022,” Crown prosecutor Evan Goulet said in court. “He did not register by the time he was supposed to.”
Goulet said a Mountie phoned and texted Sweet in August of 2022 reminding him about his obligation to register.
“About a week later, he replied and said he would not co-operate in the circumstances and that this was a joke, essentially,” he said.
Sweet did not register as a sex offender until late last month.
Kamloops provincial court Judge Marianne Armstrong went along with a joint submission for 60 days of house arrest, during which time Sweet will only be allowed to leave home to run errands, which he can do in two-hour windows three times each week.
Sweet will also be allowed to continue to work as a heavy-duty mechanic, but he will be barred from consuming drugs or alcohol and from visiting any bars or liquor stores.
