An Edmonton Judge Ruled the Sex Offender Registry Is 'Unconstitutional'

An Edmonton judge has ruled that Canada's sex offender registry is unconstitutional.

In an Oct. 24 ruling, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Andrea Moen said the Sexual Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) violates section seven of the constitution which guarantees life, liberty and security of person.

The ruling is in regards to a 2015 case where 19-year-old Eugen Ndhlovu plead guilty to two counts of sexual assault at a "Jersey Shore DTF" party.

Two women said that during that Jersey Shore party Ndhlovu groped them throughout the night. Later in the night one of the women awoke to Ndhlovu's fingers in her vagina. He told the woman it would "feel good," tried to do it a second time and the woman pushed him off of her.

For his actions, Ndhlovu plead guilty to two accounts of sexual assault.

Ndhlovu blamed his actions on alcohol saying he could not remember the night. He was sentenced to six months in jail followed by three years of probation.

Moen found that he was "was unlikely to reoffend" because of his lack of criminal history, took responsibility, showed remorse and has stopped drinking. But, even though Moen doesn't think Ndhlovu will offend again, it is mandatory he be placed on the sex offender registry for life.

Ndhlovu challenged the mandatory inclusion, saying it is "arbitrary, overbroad and grossly disproportionate," Moen agreed.

"In my view, the mandatory registration for all sex offenders upon conviction of two or more offences, without regard to the seriousness of the offences or the offender's propensity to reoffend is overbroad," reads Moen's ruling.

Moen goes on to write that including offenders "who have little to no chance of reoffending" does nothing to protect the public and subjecting them to the rigours of being on the sex offender registry is, again, "overbroad." She also takes issue with the lack of discretion in the act.

"It does not provide the court with discretion to consider the circumstances of a particular offender and a particular crime when determining registration on the registry," Moen wrote.

"The law as it stands will now place Mr. Ndhlovu on police radar for the rest of his life anytime a sexual offence is committed by a black man of average height in his neighbourhood. I find that requiring him to register bears no connection to the object of assisting police officers in the investigation or prevention of future sex crimes."

The ruling is at the provincial level meaning it won't have the power to make changes nationally but it could most certainly prove to be influential.

The ruling is not yet final, as Moen has given the Crown until Nov. 30 to return with an argument or legal remedy.

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