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Life in prison potential for Kispiox man: James Norman Shanoss gets indefinite term

James Norman Shanoss, 45, was determined to be a dangerous offender in relation to being convicted of sexual assault Feb. 24, 2011.

A man from Kispiox was given a relatively rare, indefinite sentence Dec. 19, 2013 and could potentially spend the rest of his life in prison.

James Norman Shanoss, 45, was determined to be a dangerous offender by Madam Justice Catherine J. Bruce in relation to being convicted of sexual assault Feb. 24, 2011.

Five months later the Crown, after a psychological evaluation determined he was a high-risk to reoffend, notified Shanoss of the intention to seek dangerous offender status for him.

Being found a dangerous offender is rare and is normally sought by Crown prosecutors when the accused has a significant history of violent crime,Declan Brennan, Crown prosecutor, said.

“When there’s no reasonable expectation that a person can be controlled in a community then the court imposes an indefinite sentence,” Brennan said. “They will remain in prison until a parole board is satisfied that they no longer present a risk to society. In cases like this the accused has to have shown a pattern of serious, deviant behaviour.”

Brennan was involved in a number of Shanoss’ court proceedings.

“I’ve dealt with [Shanoss] for over 25 years,” Brennan said.

The first time Shanoss was remanded was when he was 15 for an incident in Kispiox Sept. 10, 1983, where he attempted to sexually assault a minor at knife-point and stabbed his victim after she refused to comply.

Shanoss was in and out of juvenile detention facilities resulting from a number of offences the first occurring in 1981, when he was 13-years-old, Bruce wrote.

Stemming from his offences, Shanoss attended a rehabilitation program, where he learned ‘how cool it was to do crime’,  psychologist Dr. Hugues Hervé, who conducted the evaluation, said during proceedings.

Shanoss proved over the next two decades to be unable to control his sexual urges and the lack of available community support also factored into the dangerous offender ruling, according to Madam Justice Bruce.

In Madam Justice Bruce’s reasons for judgement, Hazelton-area parole officer, Patricia Braiden, accounted for the lack of available treatment or counseling for sex-offenders in the area.

“As part of her duties, Ms. Braiden is required to supervise an offender’s treatment and counseling,” Madam Justice Bruce wrote. “For drug and alcohol addition, offenders may access a counsellor employed by the various band councils, but Kispiox does not currently have a counsellor. Offenders from Kispiox must travel to Hazelton for counseling.”

Braiden, who would be responsible for monitoring Shanoss in the event of his release, also relayed to the Court that there is no sex-offender counsellor or residential treatment centre available in the Hazelton area.

Shanoss is eligible for a parole hearing between five and 10 years from now, but the likelihood of his release is very low considering his criminal history and frequency of sex assaults, Brennan said.