About 20 people picked up placards Wednesday evening on Taylor Avenue to protest against a pedophile believed to be living in the area.
Floyd Porter led the protest. He said Timothy Arthur Wheaton, a convicted pedophile from New Brunswick, lives in one of the apartments at 73 Taylor Avenue. Porter’s young adopted son lives right next door, and he’s not happy about it.
“If you look through that balcony,” Porter said said of the second-floor balcony on the north side of the apartment building where protesters believe Wheaton lives, “you can see right into my backyard … I have an immediate fear for my son and the kids of Chatham-Kent.”
With chants of “Leave our city; leave our street” and “No rest; no peace,” the protesters walked back and forth in front of the apartment building.
“We want to send a clear message that he’s not welcome,” Porter said. “One child in danger; all children in danger.”
Pat Smith, who heads up the Neighbourhood Watch on that stretch of Taylor Avenue, said the school bus picks up children right across the street from where Wheaton lives.
The Chatham-Kent police were on hand to monitor the protest. They had little to say about the speculation that the pedophile lives in the apartment building.
“We are not able to confirm or deny that this man does in fact reside in Chatham-Kent,” Const. Renee Cowell said via e-mail. “As far as we are concerned, there is no risk to public safety at this time, nor has there been.”
The general public is not able to access the addresses of convicted sex offenders. According to the provincial Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services website, there is good reason for that.
“The public does not have access to the OSOR (Ontario Sex Offenders Registry). This contributes to a consistently high offender compliance rate resulting in increased accuracy and integrity of the data on the OSOR,” it said. “This enhances public safety for Ontarians by providing police with the ability to have more accurate information about registered sex offenders.”
In May of last year, CTV News obtained a listing of where sex offenders lived, related to postal codes. In Chatham, there were 73 registered sex offenders, with 36 living in the postal code beginning with N7L and 37 in N7M.
Porter said he understands there is little the police can do to get Wheaton out of town.
“I went to the Chatham-Kent Police Service and they were monitoring him and he signs in regularly,” he said. “They’re limited in what they can do.”
He promises to continue to hold protests until Wheaton leaves.
“This is just number one.”
I can't believe the CK Police. Meanwhile where he's from, the police released a statement that he is at high risk to reoffend. Either they're not trained or CK isn't, or it's plain ignorance, or both.
I lived under him and moved he is doing things he shouldn't be…he spoke with my daughter and was at his next door neighbours while her son was there with no supervision!!