Dartmouth sex offender on house arrest after latest breach charges

DARTMOUTH SEX OFFENDER ON HOUSE ARREST AFTER LATEST BREACH CHARGES

Patrick Kingsley Knowles, formerly of Saint John, was living at a halfway house in Dartmouth when he was arrested in early August for allegedly breaching the prohibition imposed on him in 2021 by attending a public park or schoolyard.

The Crown consented to his release in Dartmouth provincial court Aug.

11 on a $4,000 bail order that requires him to live with his two sureties on Melrose Crescent in Eastern Passage on conditions of house arrest.

Knowles, 44, was also charged with two counts of violating a Nov.

24, 2024, release order on breach charges laid by military police in Shearwater.

Halifax Police allege the three newer offences were committed June 18 in Dartmouth.

The Crown agreed to Knowles’s release on Aug.

11 with a bail order that obligates him to live with two sureties at Melrose Crescent, Eastern Passage, under house arrest conditions.

He is only allowed to leave the house for emergencies, legal obligations, or when in the immediate company of a surety who must carry a cellphone.

The bail prohibits contact with anyone under 16 years old and attending parks, pools, playgrounds, and other child-frequented places.

Knowles’s previous charges include an arrest in December 2015 when he appeared at Halifax provincial court after pleading guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography, resulting in a 2.5-year prison sentence.

In March 2021, he was sentenced to prison for similar child pornography offenses.