Ronald Teneycke
A former Oliver resident who has been labelled a dangerous sexual predator is serving more jail time for flouting the law again. And some parents dread the day he is released to re-offend.
Ronald Arthur Teneycke from Okanagan Falls has been sentenced to an additional 133 days for breaching an undertaking and possessing crystal meth. He was also sentenced to three years’ probation with conditions that he abide by a strict curfew – 9 pm to 6 am. He must also have no contact with anyone under the age of 18.
This past summer Teneycke was videotaped (with a teenage girl) snorting a substance in a vehicle outside the Penticton Lakeside Resort. He was taken into custody and jailed for that breach of recognizance.
The 51-year-old previously served jail time for raping a 17-year-old Okanagan Falls girl in 1993 and threatening to kill a parole officer. Last year he was on trial for the alleged sexual assault of a Penticton woman, but he was acquitted.
In court last week, the Crown described Teneycke as an extremely dangerous and violent individual with a high risk to re-offend.
It was previously reported that his desire was to move back to rural Oliver, but in the meantime, he has been living at his mother’s residence in Okanagan Falls. The court heard that his mother is dying from a terminal illness.
Defence lawyer James Pennington recommended a fine on the recent drug charge, or a jail term to be served on weekends. But the judge declined that idea, agreeing with the Crown’s recommendation of six months in jail (less time already served).
Meanwhile, families in Okanagan Falls are breathing a sigh of relief that Teneycke is back in jail for now.
The Penticton RCMP have received calls from some parents worried about their children in the neighbourhood where Teneycke resides.
One mother reported that she saw him ride past the elementary school two days in a row. She wanted to ensure that police were aware of this.
Another mother phoned the RCMP saying her daughter and a friend reported that Teneycke was watching them and appeared to be following them home from school one day.
One concerned father in Okanagan Falls said the police and the Crown have continually warned the court about Teneycke’s high risk of reoffending. So the next time he commits a sexual offence against a woman, the judges who let him walk the streets should be held responsible, the father said.
“It’s about time that he (Teneycke) gets locked up and that’s the end of it.”
The man said society has to be able to feel safe from this predator, but people don’t feel safe in this community.
“The rights of one person don’t supersede the rights of all others.”
The father said the frustrating part is everybody but the judge realizes that Teneycke is non-repairable. “These judges live in gated communities. It (crime) doesn’t really affect them. It’s not in their neighbourhood.”
The father worries that once Teneycke is released, the public will be at risk again.
“We’re 15 minutes from Penticton. Even with all of his restrictions, it will take 20 minutes for a cop to get here. How much damage can he (Teneycke) do in 20 minutes?”
The man said his young daughter had a close encounter with Teneycke last year when she and a friend were walking home. This was just before Teneycke was charged with the assault of a Penticton woman at a remote location in Okanagan Falls.
“He was circling around them with his car . . . he was following them,” the dad said.
The girls subsequently ducked into a local business and phoned their parents to pick them up.
Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
