Warning: This story contains graphic details that may be distressing to some readers.
A person convicted of killing a sex worker in 2003 and also assaulting children has been granted bail on charges they violated a long-term supervision order.
On Feb. 21, Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Nancy Adams granted Jatin Patel, 49, bail on the same conditions as contained in the supervision order.
Adams said any risk Patel may pose could be managed in the community by the Parole Board of Canada.
Court documents said Patel must reside at a community corrections centre or a community residential facility approved by the Correctional Service of Canada. Patel must also comply with the conditions of the long-term order.
Patel faces two counts of violating a long-term supervision order, both related to Nov. 21 incidents.
The first allegation is that Patel failed to report a relationship or friendship to their parole supervisor.
The second is that they owned, used or possessed a technological device that would allow internet connection without parole supervisor approval.
In a bail hearing, the Crown must prove why an accused should be detained. A defendant does not have to prove why they deserve to be released.
The killing
Patel was convicted in the 2003 killing of transsexual prostitute Shelby Tracy Tom.
Tom’s body was found behind a laundromat, wrapped in a hotel mattress cover and stuffed in a shopping cart.
Patel put Thom’s body there with the assistance of another sex worker.
Patel was sentenced to nine years for manslaughter, with four-and-a-half years left to serve after credit for time served.
Patel's lawyer in the case said Patel had been sexually assaulted in prison and that their reaction to Tom sprang partially from that.
In 2009, Patel was arrested in downtown Vancouver after allegedly breaching parole conditions.
‘Significant risk’
In April 2021, police issued a warning about Patel living in Vancouver, saying they were "a significant risk to adolescent females and sex workers in the city.”
At that point, Patel was considered a high-risk sex offender serving a seven-year long-term supervision order for a conviction of sexual assault.
After a conviction of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old in a Surrey motel in January and March 2015, Patel was declared a dangerous offender but that designation was overturned in March 2018.
In February 2015, Patel was convicted of sexual assault after touching a 13-year-old girl's buttocks at a Safeway store. Patel was convicted of a further sexual offence in this case.
