
Despite knowing he was prohibited from being near minors, the man who was supposed to be supervising a convicted child sex offender in Kelowna would let him out of his sight while he attended a facility where children were sometimes present.
Following Taylor Dueck's guilty plea and sentencing last week, testimony from his preliminary inquiry that was previously under a publication ban can now be reported.
Dueck, 30, pleaded guilty to the attempted sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl stemming from a Feb. 9, 2024 incident at a Kelowna equestrian facility. He was handed a two-year jail sentence last week and with time served, he has 249 days left, followed by three years of probation.
While the matter never went to trial, a preliminary inquiry was held back in June, that saw testimony from Dueck's probation officer and his supervisor who was with him on the day of the incident.
An employee of Community Living BC subcontractor Personal Lifestyle Support Ltd. had been supervising Dueck for just over two months prior to the incident. The identity of the employee is covered under a sweeping publication ban in the case, and will be referred to as AK.
AK testified that while he didn't know the exact details of Dueck's offending history, he knew his probation conditions prohibited Dueck from being near minors.
Despite this, AK testified that he regularly saw minors at the equestrian facility where Dueck attended.
“Usually the minors come over there around 3 p.m. and once in a while there are minors there before 3 p.m.,” he said. “But when I used to take [Dueck] over there he usually comes out by his own when he sees minors there.”
While Dueck was supposed to attend the location before the youth arrived, AK testified about one time when he saw Dueck speaking to a minor in the barn.
“He was already in that conversation and I didn't want to interrupt that conversation so he just had a chat and then we left,” AK said.
When pressed about that incident, AK said he never followed up with Dueck to tell him not to speak with young people at the facility, as he had appeared to be "respectful."
“We used to have conversations about his past experiences, so he used to tell me he regrets what he's done in the past and he wants to get on the right path now, so that actually made me feel like I should trust him and give him some personal space while he's in the barn," AK said.
"I trusted him and that was the main reason why I left him inside the barn by himself on the day of [the attempted assault].”
He went on to say that Dueck had been “feeling a little uncomfortable” when AK was following him around closely, so he wanted to respect Dueck's personal space.” Of the estimated 25 times AK took Dueck to the facility, he said he would leave him on his own about half the times, although he said he'd keep an eye on him.
'Lost track of time'
AK said they had arrived at the facility at about 2 p.m. on Feb. 9, 2024, and after checking to make sure there were no minors in the barn, AK returned to his vehicle.
“I was on a phone call that day,” he testified. “I was actually in and out of my car just because it was so cold outside. Around 3 p.m. I noticed that there was a lady dropping [off] her daughter over there and the minor female went inside the barn. I was waiting for [Dueck] to come out on his own as usual and just because I was on the phone call I lost track of time.”
He said he went to find Dueck at about 3:30 p.m., but Dueck was coming out of the barn on his own.
“I could see he was kind of very scared. His expressions were very anxiety and he was very depressed and he was scared. He quickly got into my car, like he usually smoked a cigarette before we leave, but that day he didn't smoke a cigarette and he was kind of rushing me,” AK testified.
“I asked him 'Is everything ok with you' but he said 'Ya, everything is fine.' But I was very concerned about that unusual behaviour because I'd never seen him so scared.”
Dueck was arrested soon after.
During sentencing last week, the court heard how the young girl had entered a bathroom that Dueck was in, and he told her “I’m going to kiss you.” The child told him “no,” pushed him, and they both quickly exited the bathroom.
'A privacy matter'
Dueck's probation officer, whose identity is also covered under a publication ban and will be referred to as RC, also testified at the preliminary inquiry. RC said that he first approved Dueck's attendance at the equestrian facility for horse riding lessons in September 2023, after an employee of the John Howard Society told him the facility was suitable for Dueck.
The John Howard Society was initially supervising Dueck, before the responsibility was transferred to Personal Lifestyle Support on Dec. 1, 2023.
The owner of the equestrian facility told Castanet she was not informed of Dueck's past, something that RC addressed in his testimony.
“So if I understand you, you were concerned that they might discover Mr. Dueck's history and he might not be allowed to go there?” Dueck's defence counsel Robert Larmer asked, after RC said he didn't attend the facility himself due to a “privacy matter."
“What I'm saying, your honour, is any place that someone who's under a [probation] order goes, we would be mindful not disclosing that information directly to that facility and to the public," RC replied.
While RC later expanded Dueck's permission to allow him to help clean up the barn after his horse riding lessons, the Feb. 9 incident occurred on a day when Dueck had not been taking riding lessons, when he was not permitted to attend.
“If Mr. Dueck had asked you to go clean the stables etc., not after riding lessons, before children attended, would you give him permission?” Larmer asked.
“No your honour, I would not,” RC replied.
No 'systemic issues'
After Castanet's reporting on the incident, Kelowna Mission MLA Renee Merrifield spoke about the matter in the BC Legislature, calling it a "total failure" by the government. Then-Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth called for an investigation into what happened.
Earlier this week, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Garry Begg said the investigation found “no evidence of systemic issues with BC Corrections and policing policy and procedures.
Personal Lifestyle Support's contract with Community Living BC is “under review,” but remains in place, the provincial government says.
Long criminal history
Dueck has previously served prison sentences for several sexual assaults of teenagers, including one that involved the use of a knife. He was most recently incarcerated from June 2022 to February 2023 for sexually touching a 10-year-old girl.
He was released on probation in Kelowna in February 2023, but the public was not notified.
“Somebody needs to be held accountable, if he's on probation and there are stipulations that he's supposed to be following, other than letting him do whatever the hell he wanted. That part blows my mind away,” the victim's father told Castanet last February.
“In my opinion, he was just training everybody there to give him more leeway to get an opportunity to strike. Because he'd been there for a while. And then he just kind of got everybody accustomed to him being away for longer and more time. And the first opportunity he got he made an attempt.”
Dueck suffers from a number of cognitive and psychological issues. His past diagnoses include PTSD, major depressive disorder, expressive language disorder, partial fetal alcohol syndrome or alcohol related neuro-developmental disorder, as well as ADHD.
Larmer, Dueck's lawyer, said someone with Dueck's cognitive deficiencies does not belong in jail, but there are no other options for him. Speaking with Castanet after sentencing, Larmer placed the blame on AK.
“Had he done his job, we wouldn't be here today. Mr. Dueck wouldn't be in custody, the complainant wouldn't have had this scary incident happen," Larmer said.
"So the system did fail in that that worker didn't do his job, and all of us are here today at the public's expense because that worker didn't do what was required of him.”