A serial romance scammer was declared a dangerous offender in an Edmonton courtroom Friday. The Alberta man defrauded victims of nearly $200,000.
The justice believes he won’t change his behaviour, which is part of her reason for handing him a prison sentence with no end date.
Fifty-five-year-old Jeffrey Paul Kent has more than a dozen charges of fraud that span over 35 years in both British Columbia and Alberta, but the decision to declare him a dangerous offender comes from his romance scams.
Justice Melanie Hayes-Richard told the court Friday that Kent destroyed the lives and finances of his victims and left them with severe psychological harm.
“He is a serial fraudster. Convincing women of lies and false promises to gain access to their financials. Mr. Kent is an accomplished liar and master manipulator,” said Hayes-Richard in her decision.
Kent met five of his victims through an online dating website. He would create false personas to date the women, and would then tell them he had a variety of different jobs. Hayes-Richard said he would use “love-bombing tactics.”
Kent would then ask them for money. He would ask the victims for money for business opportunities, then failed to pay back the money, and sometimes said that he had brain cancer or seizure disorders.
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The court heard that most times, he would spend the money gambling at the casino or on horse races. Kent defrauded the women of more than $170,000.
“Using lie upon lie, he inserted himself into his victims’ lives, promising a bright and secure future. Instead, he wreaked havoc,” said Hayes-Richard.
Calgary woman loses $800k in romance scam
In declaring him a dangerous offender, the justice said nothing has succeeded in getting Kent to change his behaviour and that she has no doubt he would go back to romance scams. She also says he poses a threat to the well-being of others.
“He is utterly indifferent to the effect of his criminal behaviour on his victims and, in some cases, their children. He has been treated for and intellectually understands his criminal behaviour. He is at high risk of reoffending by committing a serious personal injury offence,” Hayes-Richard said.
“There is no other alternative raised by the evidence that could adequately protect the public against the commission by Mr Kent of a serious personal injury offence other than an indeterminate sentence.”
Mount Royal University criminal justice professor Doug King says dangerous offender designations in Canada are rare.
“It’s quite a hurdle for the courts to meet. This obviously is a very serious offender that the court has decided, nope, you’re going to go away for a long period of time,” King said.
Kent has been in custody since Sept. 24, 2018. He will be eligible for his first parole hearing on that day this September. King says the chance that a dangerous offender is released is rare.
“Although they are eligible for parole, the presumption is they’re not going to get it, unless they have shown significant assessed improvement and the likelihood of them reoffending again is zero,” King said.
“To give context, a person who’s convicted of first-degree murder in Canada is eligible for a parole at 25 years; most get out if they apply for it. Most dangerous offenders don’t get out. We’re talking about a very different type of offender within the context of the criminal justice system in Canada.”
The justice also ordered Kent to make restitution to the women he defrauded.
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