
Canada-wide warrant issued for convicted sex offender with connections to Parry Sound
Darren Wheatley, 55, is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant as of May 30, 2025, for allegedly breaching his long-term supervision order. (Supplied/Ontario Provincial Police)
Police are searching for a wanted federal offender currently serving time for convictions of sexual assault and choking with ties to Parry Sound and the GTA.
Darren Wheatley, 55, is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for allegedly breaching his long-term supervision order, Ontario Provincial Police said in a news release.
Wheatley is 'known to frequent Toronto's downtown core and Parry Sound,' according to a social media post by police.
He is currently serving a 10-year, one-month and 29-day sentence for two counts each of sexual assault, sexual assault causing bodily harm and choking.
Police are asking for the public's help in locating him.
Darren Wheatley - Wanted
Darren Wheatley, 55, is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant as of May 30, 2025, for allegedly breaching his long-term supervision order. (Ontario Provincial Police/X)
He is an Indigenous man described as 6 feet or 183cm, 220 pounds or 100kg with black hair and brown eyes.
'Anyone having contact with this offender or information in regards to their whereabouts is asked to contact the Provincial R.O.P.E. Squad … at 1-866-870-7673 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or call 911,' OPP said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

CBC
35 minutes ago
- CBC
Montreal police recover unidentifiable body from Prairies River
Montreal police pulled a body out of the Prairies River, north of the Island of Montreal near the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, Saturday afternoon. Police received a 911 call just before 3:20 p.m. after a person spotted the body in the water near the intersection of Gouin Boulevard and Martin Avenue. The body is unidentifiable, according to police spokesperson Julien Lévesque. Investigators with the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal analyzed the scene and the investigation is being transferred to the Quebec coroner's office.


CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Liberals taking ‘fresh' look at online harms bill, justice minister says
Minister of Justice Sean Fraser arrives for a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the federal government plans to take a 'fresh' look at its online harms legislation over the summer but it's not clear yet exactly what the bill will look like when it is reintroduced. It would be the Liberals third attempt to pass legislation to address harmful behaviour online. Fraser told The Canadian Press in an interview that the government hasn't decided whether to rewrite or simply reintroduce the Online Harms Act, which was introduced in 2024 but did not pass. He said Canadians can expect measures addressing deepfakes and child exploitation 'to be included in legislative reforms coming up in the near future.' In their election platform, the Liberals promised to make the distribution of non-consensual sexual deepfakes a criminal offence. They also pledged to introduce a bill to protect children from online sexploitation and extortion, and to give law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools to pursue those crimes. Fraser said the growth of artificial intelligence is influencing the discussions. The spread of generative AI has changed both the online space and everyday life since the federal government first introduced the legislation. 'We will have that in mind as we revisit the specifics of online harms legislation,' he added. 'The world changes and governments would be remiss if they didn't recognize that policy needs to shift.' Online harms legislation was first proposed by then-heritage minister Steven Guilbeault in 2021, but after widespread criticism, the government pivoted and shifted the file to the justice minister. Guilbeault is now back in his old ministry, which has been renamed Canadian identity and culture. Prime Minister Mark Carney has also created an artificial intelligence ministry, headed up by rookie MP Evan Solomon. Fraser said he expects 'significant engagement' with Guilbeault and Solomon but it will be determined later which minister will take the lead on it. The first version of the bill alarmed critics who warned that the provision requiring platforms to take down offending content within 24 hours would undermine free expression. When Fraser's predecessor, Arif Virani, introduced the Online Harms Act in 2024, the bill restricted that 24-hour takedown provision to content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor, or intimate content shared without consent, including deepfakes. It also required social media companies to explain how they plan to reduce the risks their platforms pose to users, and imposed on them a duty to protect children. But the government also included Criminal Code and Canadian Human Rights Act amendments targeting hate in the same legislation — which some said risked chilling free speech. In late 2024, Virani said he would split those controversial provisions off into a separate bill, but that didn't happen before this spring's federal election was called and the bill died on the order paper. Fraser said no decision has been made yet on whether to bring back online harms legislation in one bill or two. 'That is precisely the kind of thing that I want to have an opportunity to discuss with stakeholders, to ensure we're moving forward in a way that will create a broad base of public support,' he said. Fraser said the government could 'modify existing versions that we may have on the shelf from the previous Parliament as may be needed, or to accept the form in which we had the legislation.' He added he wants to have a 'fresh consideration of the path forward, where I personally can benefit from the advice of those closest to the file who know best how to keep kids safe online.' While the government hasn't set a date to introduce legislation, it could include some online harms measures in a crime bill Fraser plans to table in the fall. Fraser said online harms provisions that 'touch more specifically on criminal activity' could be 'included in one piece of legislation, with a broader set of reforms on online harms at a different time.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2025. Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press


National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
They saved Jews from the Nazis. Eighty years later, two Dutch-Canadian couples named among the 'righteous'
Article content In accepting the honour on behalf of her late grandparents, Quinlan, a retired judge who lives in Barrie, Ont., noted Canada's dismal record of admitting Jewish refugees during the war era, the lowest among western countries. Article content 'The inactions of our country underscore the empathy and humanity of our grandparents, who could also have done nothing,' Quinlan told those assembled. 'A supposed civilized country could ignore the suffering around it, but Moeke and Opa could not.' Article content Her grandparents never talked about their valour. The sentiment, according to one of their daughters — Quinlan's mother — was 'it was just something we did. Anyone would have done it.' Article content That isn't so, Quinlan said. 'It was dangerous. It was an act of heroism that until now, was unrecognized.' Article content Hedrick and Frederika Veldboom, meantime, were newly married and members of the Dutch underground who turned their rural farmhouse into a hiding place for Jews and young Dutch men fleeing forced labour. Among the Jews were Lena Kropveld and her husband, Yitzchak Jedwab, a cantor. Wed secretly in 1942, they spent months in a hidden space behind a wardrobe, relying on coded warning systems. Article content Article content The dangers rose to new heights when Lena gave birth to a baby boy. She held her newborn for an hour before Hendrik Veldboom placed him in a cardboard box and bicycled in darkness to put the baby on the doorstep of the leader of the underground resistance, who took the child in despite having eight children. The baby, registered as abandoned, was reunited with his parents after liberation. Article content In 1952, the Veldbooms immigrated to Brockville, Ont., where they became farmers. What would they have said about being honoured as righteous rescuers? Article content 'I think they would be terribly surprised,' said their daughter, Jantina Veldboom Devries, who lives in Hamilton, Ont. and accepted the distinction 'I think it would be almost unthinkable for them because they didn't see themselves as heroic. They did the right thing at the right time. Doing the right and honourable thing doesn't need recognition, they would say.' Article content Idit Shamir, Israel's consul general in Toronto and western Canada, echoed that sense of humility expressed by the two couples — indeed by many other Righteous Among the Nations. Article content 'Were they heroes?' Shamir asked. 'They would laugh. They were farmers. Parents. Neighbours who kept chickens and worried about harvest. Article content 'Were they saints? They would object. They made mistakes. They felt fear. They were gloriously, beautifully human. We call them what they were: Righteous. Not perfect. Not fearless. Not superhuman. Simply people who saw clearly when the world went blind.' Article content