An Ottawa day care operator convicted last year of sexually assaulting young girls in his care now faces new charges for public nudity. 42-year-old Jeffrey Wills was arrested yesterday near his Nepean home near Qualicum Street after complaints about a naked man. Wills was convicted of the original crimes in August of 2015 and sentenced to five years but he was appealing that sentence, and was out on bail pending that appeal. Wills was arrested on Thursday after Ottawa Police received calls from someone about a man naked man in a Nepean neighborhood off Qualicum Street and Beaumaris Drive.
Constable Chuck Benoit is with Ottawa Police, “The individual was seen by the victim on October 17th and multiple times on the 18th and 19th.”
Wills was picked up at his home on Qualicum yesterday and charged with 3 counts of nudity, 3 counts of mischief to property and 3 counts of breach of a recognizance order.
Neighbors wondered what was going on. “
“My wife happened to come home at that time,” says one man, “and saw two police cars outside and that's all we know.”
But it wasn't the first time they had seen police at the house. Wills, who ran a daycare out of his home, was convicted last year of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and exposure to a person under 16 years of age, involving 3 and 5 year old girls in his care. Wills was sentenced to 5 years in prison in August of last year. The parents of some his tiny victims spoke at his sentencing hearing, saying that what he did to their children destroyed them. They ended up moving.
Wills launched an appeal and was released on bail pending his appeal just a few weeks ago.
Criminal defence lawyer Leo Russomanno says it's a balancing act for the courts determining fairness for the accused over the interests of justice.
“There are a lot of people that languish in custody on jail sentences where the convictions are later overturned,” Russomanno explained.
But, he added, if Wills is convicted on these new charges, it will be a big factor going forward.
“It's certainly an aggravating factor in his sentence that he was out on bail pending appeal for charges that were similar in nature. The court would look at that with concern and that would serve to increase the severity of his sentence,” Russomanno said.
Jeffrey Wills has just begun his latest journey through the courts. He appeared briefly this morning and will have a bail hearing October 26th.
