High Risk Sex-Offender Christopher Watts Soon To Be Released From Prison

— October 15, 2015

Christopher Watts, a high-risk convicted sex offender will soon be released from prison. For those of you who don’t remember or weren’t living in the area in 2001, Christopher Watts was the man convicted of manslaughter in the death of Amanda Raymond, who was just 13 at the time of her death. He was also convicted of sexual assault and sexual interference. Amanda was attending an all-night party on Somme Island (Puslinch Lake) where she and other girls reportedly took oxycodone, morphine and amphetamines.

On Nov. 23, Watts’ sentence is up and he will be released from custody but will apparently be ‘supervised’ for 10 years. Watts has been designated a ‘long-term offender’, a label often given to sex offenders who are likely to reoffend. Parole board members have said that Watts poses a “high risk for violent and sexually violent reoffending despite completion of some programming”.

I’m sure many in the community remember this sad time as clearly as I do. I remember everyone being a little more cautious in the days and weeks following Amanda’s death and clearly remember the police searching my property and barns making sure Watts was not hiding in the area. He was eventually apprehended at a train station in Toronto about five weeks after the incident.

Below are some articles I’ve found that relate to this incident, starting with the current release information and then a little historical information.