Former TV reporter Ron Bencze, charged with nine child-related sex crimes earlier this year, has been arrested again for breaching his bail conditions.
Bencze, a Surrey resident, is awaiting trial on the charges and was prohibited from having contact with young people as part of the conditions of his release on bail. Police say he was spotted last month outside a school and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He turned himself in on Wednesday.
He now faces a new charge of breaching conditions and has been released on a promise to appear at his next court date in mid-December. New bail conditions specify he must surrender his passport and cannot be within 50 metres of schools, daycares or playgrounds.
A preliminary inquiry into the initial charges – to determine whether there is enough evidence to justify a trial – is scheduled for eight days in January.
Bencze is charged with three counts of sexual assault, four counts of sexual interference with a person under 16 and two of invitation to sexual touching involving a person under 16. The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2001 and 2011. He entered a not guilty plea last spring in Surrey Provincial Court.
Bencze, a married father of three, had been a reporter with Global TV since 2004, and had more than 20 years experience in the news industry. He was fired from his job at Global TV in April.
- with files from CTV