Montreal police are asking for the public’s help as they search for a convicted sex criminal and long-term offender who is illegally at large for the second time in three years.
Police say Mario Charette, 65, was in Montreal when he violated the conditions he is required to abide by.
“He could be in Quebec or elsewhere in Canada,” police said in a notice Wednesday.
Police said the same thing when they asked for the public’s help to locate Charette in June 2023, when he was also illegally at large.
Court records show that Charette has at least 83 criminal convictions, including multiple charges of violating release conditions, escaping from lawful custody as well as convictions for fraud, theft, sexual assault and taking a person hostage.
He pleaded guilty earlier this month to uttering threats, for which one day was added to the six months he’d served in pretrial detention. He was also given 18 months probation.
Last year, he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to two years in prison — minus credit for time served — and one-year of probation. His address in that case is listed as a jail in St-Jérôme.
Charette was declared a long-term offender in 2014, when a judge in Rivière-du-Loup sentenced him to a 30-month prison term for accessing child pornography over the course of 18 months.
That designation, which was set to be in force for 10 years and imposed surveillance conditions on Charette after his release from prison, was extended to 2029 after he was illegally at large for more than a year, the run from the law that trigged the previous request for public from Montreal police.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal says Charette has white skin and speaks French.
He is described as being about 5-foot-5 and weighs about 196 lbs. He has grey hair and blue eyes. He wears glasses, police say, and may have a grey moustache and beard.
Police say he has scars on his right cheek and near his left eye.
He also has a number of tattoos, including the names “Karine,” accompanied by a cross, and “Mario” on his right arm. On his left forearm, he has an anchor as well as two hearts with a dagger. Higher on his left arm, he has the name “Lina” and a panther. A bird is tattooed on his chest.
The last time he was seen, police say, he was wearing a black hat with the word “energy” on the right side, a black long-sleeved shirt and dark pants.
Anyone who sees Charette is encouraged to go to their local police station or call the sex crimes unit at 514-280-8502.
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