This story includes details that some readers might find disturbing.
A notorious sex offender who assaulted more than two dozen people, was arrested Wednesday morning after he left a halfway house in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough this week.
On Wednesday, Montreal police spokesperson Anne-Sophie Simard said Gilles Tardif, 69, was arrested while out on “an illegal release from a community residential centre.”
Tardif was arrested in the Plateau, Siumard said.
He came to be known as the “black-gloved rapist” four decades ago following his arrest in an investigation that revealed he sexually assaulted 27 victims between the ages of 5 and 22 over a 16-month period.
In 1992, while he was incarcerated inside a federal penitentiary, he sexually assaulted a minor who was at the institution for a visit.
According to the Journal de Montréal, Tardif left a halfway house in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough Tuesday night.
On April 27, the Parole Board of Canada made a decision to extend Tardif’s day parole for another six months.
“Your criminal record began in 1975 and shows little respite up to this (life) sentence,” the parole board wrote in its decision, made last month.
“It reveals a history of initially acquisitive and violent crime. It includes, among other things, robbery, armed robbery, being disguised with criminal intent, escape from lawful custody, burglary and possession of burglary tools.
“Then, (in the 1980s) your criminality took a marked turn when your offences took a sexual turn.”
The Gazette has contacted Correctional Service Canada seeking comment on the search for Tardif.
This report will be updated.