Police confirm wanted sex offender arrested on Crown land in Napanee
After rumours about the identity of a man who was arrested in Napanee swirled throughout the community, police have now confirmed that man to be wanted sex offender Kirk Joly.
For their part, the Lennox and Addington (L&A) County Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) confirmed that they had carried out the arrest on Tuesday, Jun. 27, 2023, on the Crown land off of Switzerville Road.
“On June 27, 2023, at approximately 6:45 am members of the Lennox and Addington OPP located a male living in the woods on crown land near Switzerville Road,” said Constable David Yome, Media Relations Officer for L&A OPP, in an email to Kingstonist.
According to Yome, the arrested man was wanted on arrest warrants out of Sudbury. He said that L&A OPP transported the arrested party to Barrie, where Sudbury Police took custody of him.
Following the arrest, many area residents took to social media, claiming that the arrested man was Kirk Joly, a man previously convicted of sexual assault of a minor – though the original charges against him were for an aggravated sexual assault, which occurred at a Santa Claus Parade in Sudbury in November 2012, the Sudbury Star later reported upon Joly’s conviction.
As part of that conviction, Joly – who was 35 at the time while his victim was 15 – was banned from possessing weapons for 10 years, and placed on the National Sex Offender Registry. It is unclear whether the same man was arrested in Toronto in 2021 for robbery and assault, but the ages of that Kirk Joly (at the time) and the Kirk Joly arrested on Tuesday could align.
It is also unclear why Joly was not being monitored by parole and police officers, nor why those living in the area surrounding the Crown land where he was living rough were not notified of his presence, given he is a registered sex offender. In addition, it is unclear how long Joly was living in the brush, though area residents report they contacted the OPP regarding his presence in the area on Friday, Jun. 16, 2023, well over a week before he was arrested.
However, according to the Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) their organization was contacted by the OPP regarding the arrest of Joly, as he was wanted by Sudbury Police.
“OPP officers contacted GSPS in relation to the arrest of wanted party, 45-year-old, Kirk Joly,” said Kaitlyn Dunn, Supervisor of Corporate Communications for GSPS, in an email to Kingstonist after a number of attempts to confirm the arrest.
Dunn said that Joly was wanted on three separate warrants for his arrest by Sudbury Police: two for breach of probation, and the other for the sexual assault of a minor – a person under 16 years of age.
“He appeared in bail court on June 28 and has since been remanded into custody,” Dunn disclosed to Kingstonist.
“A publication ban has been issued since his arrest, so no further details can be provided.”
Napanee Mayor Terry Richardson confirmed with Kingstonist that he is looking into ensuring the site where Joly was living is properly cleaned up, though he cautioned he was unsure if that responsibility would fall to the Town of Greater Napanee or to the Province of Ontario, given the fact it is located on Crown land.
Kingstonist has inquiries filed with a number of different law enforcement and parole services regarding how Joly was able to move to Napanee and live in the brush in a makeshift shelter without notice to the community. Further coverage of this matter will follow as more information becomes available.
