Posted June 26, 2024 1:45 pm.
Last Updated June 26, 2024 2:37 pm.
Toronto police investigators say they’re looking for a convicted sex offender as officers allege the suspect took “deliberate steps” to hide the body of a person who died of natural causes inside an apartment.
“We don’t want to alarm the public, but we want to alert the public and we want the public to be aware of who is around them,” Toronto Police 55 Division Supt. Kim O’Toole told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
“We suspect he is preying on vulnerable individuals to make his way through life while he is wanted on this Canada-wide warrant.”
She said officers were called to an apartment in the Broadview Avenue and Dundas Street East area on May 27 by a community support worker. After they arrived, they found a deceased person inside. O’Toole said the victim was a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and added there were additional factors that made the person vulnerable.
A coroner determined the person died of natural causes.
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O’Toole alleged the suspect knew the deceased victim was inside an apartment, didn’t call police, and took “deliberate steps” to “actively hide” the body. She wouldn’t elaborate on the victim or the circumstances surrounding the incident, but said there was forensic evidence found inside in the unit.
O’Toole said the victim and the suspect were often seen together by other building residents. She said the suspect had the victim’s door fob.
The suspect was identified as 52-year-old Rejean Hermel Perron. O’Toole said he has also used the aliases Daniel Joseph Christie, Kristy, or Krysty.
The accused, she said, has been wanted on a Canada-wide arrest warrant since 2021 for violating parole conditions after serving a three-year sentence in connection with a 2015 investigation. That warrant was for the alleged offences of forcible confinement, sexual assault with a weapon, and use of an imitation firearm during the commission of an indictable offence.
O’Toole said there was no sign of Perron “for a number of years” before the current investigation.
She added the suspect is known to visit areas just east of downtown Toronto, Chatham-Kent and Kingston.
O’Toole said there is a particular concern the accused, who has a “history of sexual assault against women,” might try to exploit or target women, vulnerable persons and/or members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. She said Perron left Bath Institution years ago without government identification or a bank account.
“There is no way for us to actually trace him. We don’t know how he is supporting himself, so we suspect that he is preying on vulnerable individuals to make his way through life while he is wanted on this Canada-wide warrant,” O’Toole said.
She described Perron as being five-foot-two and having dark-colour hair, blue eyes and a thin build, adding he might have a “pockmarked” complexion.
“No tip is too small or insignificant,” O’Toole said while encouraging people to contact police if they have any information.
“I encourage Rejean Perron to seek legal counsel and turn himself in immediately.”
Source toronto.citynews(.)ca/2024/06/26/toronto-police-rejean-hermel-perron/