A 35-year-old man who was the subject of a Canada-wide manhunt in 2020 has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for a list of violent crimes in Burnaby, including sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm and unlawful confinement.
In February 2020, Burnaby RCMP put out a call for help locating Jack Lincoln Kelley, saying he was wanted on two Canada-wide warrants and one B.C. warrant.
Local police had already been looking for Kelley for a month before the press release.
Under court-imposed conditions at the time, police said Kelley had been banned from dating or having any intimate relationship with any woman unless a bail supervisor had first informed her of his court-ordered conditions.
Burnaby Mounties caught up with Kelley in White Rock in July 2020 and charged him with a litany of violent crimes, including sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm, unlawful confinement, uttering threats, criminal harassment and attempting to obstruct justice.
Kelley pleaded not guilty, but he was convicted in May on 17 charges after an eight-day trial in Vancouver provincial court, according to the court registry.
He was sentenced on Oct. 18.
A police news release Monday said the investigation was led by Burnaby RCMP’s domestic violence unit, investigative support team and serious crimes unit but got assistance from “almost every other section in the detachment.”
“We cannot undo the harm this man has caused, but we can and will always strive for justice and community safety,” Insp. Matt Toews said in the release. “After months of investigation, coordination and painstaking effort, we’ve reached a successful conclusion and I commend everyone involved. I hope this result will bring some comfort to the victim in this case.”
Burnaby RCMP are encouraging anyone who has been a victim of sexual assault to contact police.
Contact Burnaby RCMP at 604-646-9999.
To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.solvecrime.ca.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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