A high-risk B.C. sex offender under a long-term supervision order is going to trial on allegations of sexual assault and for breaching that order.
John Ambrose Seward appeared before Vancouver provincial court Judge Kathryn Denhoff May 24 for arraignment and to set dates for trial and pre-trial hearings.
Seward appeared before the same court on May 3 on a charge that he failed to comply with a long-term supervision order.
He's serving a 10-year supervision order for convictions of sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon and aggravated assault. As part of the order, he must immediately report all females he associates with or attempts to associate with, which he is alleged to have not done.
Due to the allegations, he was returned to custody.
Seward is due to go to trial Jan. 21-25 and Jan. 29-30 on a sexual assault charge, Crown prosecutor Jacinta Lawton told Denhoff. The alleged supervision order breach goes to court Feb. 8-9.
The Vancouver Police Department issued a public warning about Seward in April 2021, saying he would be residing in Vancouver and "poses a significant risk to women in the community."
This is not the first time Seward has allegedly breached his conditions.
He was arrested in Nanaimo in 2015 after it was reported he had been in a public park earlier in the evening, only hours after he had been released. Seward arrived in Nanaimo from Vancouver that day and was escorted to his supportive housing by RCMP officers.
In July 2015, he appeared in Nanaimo provincial court charged with aggravated assault and intent to commit a sexual assault by choking.
Seward remains in custody by consent, Lawton said.
“He hasn’t had a bail hearing,” she said.
