Sir Brent Adair Habetler was under court ordered conditions in Alberta when he was arrested in Bermuda and those conditions were binding, regardless of where he was in the world, says a law professor.
On Nov. 26, 2023, 46-year-old Habetler, who legally changed his name to “Sir,” was arrested in Bermuda and charged with committing an indecent act in a swimming pool and assault.
“While Canadian criminal law does not apply outside of Canada per se (e.g. he could not be prosecuted in Canada for offences committed in Bermuda or anywhere else), the courts have found that court-ordered conditions (such as those attaching to peace bonds) apply to the person regardless of location,” University of Alberta Law Professor Steven Penney told SASKTODAY.ca in an email Jan. 8. “So it is possible that he could be found in violation of those conditions by an Alberta court.”
Just weeks before Habetler was arrested in Bermuda, charges of committing an indecent act in a public place, the Lloydminster, Alta., swimming pool, were withdrawn. Instead, the Crown Prosecutor had proceeded by a 12-month peace bond ordering Habetler not to be at any swimming pool, daycare, day school, or youth centre for one year. Previously, a two-day trial had been set for January 2024 in Lloydminster Alberta Court of Justice.
Bermuda residents have expressed outrage that Habetler landed on their shores citing similar charges he had faced in Lloydminster, Alberta in March 2023 and in Prince George, British Columbia, in February 2000.
The Bermuda residents also pointed to the March 2023 Saskatchewan RCMP alert to the public, which said that in the interest of public safety, they were advising residents of the Maidstone RCMP detachment area, and surrounding communities, that Habetler had been charged with committing an indecent act and RCMP believed that he was at high risk to reoffend.
Habetler is back in Bermuda court on Feb. 2. The Bermuda charges against Habetler haven't been tested in court.
There are no new breach charges against Habetler in Alberta for being charged in Bermuda with committing an indecent act at a swimming pool.
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