Dangerous high-risk sex offender to live in Surrey, B.C. police say in a warning

Surrey Police Services released this image of Leonard Michael Ramstead while issuing a issuing a Public Interest Disclosure. Photo by Handout

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Police in Surrey, B.C., have taken the step of advising the public that a dangerous high-risk sex offender will be residing in the community.

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In a press release and on posts to social media, Surrey Police Services (SPS) said it was issuing a Public Interest Disclosure after being notified that the offender, Leonard Michael Ramstead, will be residing in the city. Ramstead has previously been convicted of sexual offences involving children and is believed to continue to pose a risk for violent sexual offences against children, police said. Surrey is part of the metropolitan Vancouver region.

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Police have released an image and a description, and say Ramstead is a 58-year-old white male, 5-foot-7 and approximately 235 lbs. He has brown hair, blue eyes, and normally has a beard.

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Ramstead is the subject of a long-term supervision order, defined by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) as “a non-custodial sentencing option available to the courts to extend the length of time that the CSC will supervise and support an offender in the community.”

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The order cannot exceed 10 years, and Ramstead has been given the maximum duration. He also has a long list of bail conditions, which include not consuming alcohol or drugs; avoiding all contact with past or present victims of offences for which he has been convicted, or any known members of their families; and having no contact or to be in the presence of any children under the age of 16.

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This incudes a ban on being near day cares, elementary or secondary schools, parks and playgrounds, swimming pools, and recreational centres, or seeking any employment or voluntary work that involves being in a position of trust or authority towards someone under 16.

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Anyone seeing Ramstead breaching his release conditions is asked to immediately call 911.

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Surrey Police Services took over as the police of jurisdiction from the local RCMP detachment in 2024. However, the RCMP has also announced it will be partnering to surveil Ramstead via traditional police methods, as well as through electronic monitoring.

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Ramstead was first convicted in 2019 for sexual interference with a person under age 16, and again in 2021 for the same charge with a person under 14. He is considered a high risk to young people and children.

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He was given statutory release in April 2024 upon serving two-thirds of his fixed-term sentence. RCMP at the time warned the community of his release, which concluded this month with the transition to the long-term supervision order.

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Ramstead’s statutory release in 2024 coincided with that of another dangerous sex offender, prompting consternation from Surrey’s mayor, Brenda Locke.

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“I am absolutely appalled and outraged that not one, but two dangerous sex offenders have been released into our community in a mere two-week span,” Locke told Vancouver Sun.

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“It is beyond comprehension why several high-risk offenders are being unleashed into our city, which has the largest youth population in B.C.,” she said. “This is utterly unacceptable. The blatant disregard for the safety and security of our community, particularly our most vulnerable individuals, is a grave injustice that cannot be overlooked.”

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