The nightmare has a new address. A high-risk sex offender, recently released from a Winnipeg prison, is now living in the heart of Toronto.
Dave Anthoney Avis, 50, walked out of prison on statutory release Thursday, and police are warning the public that he poses a grave threat to the community.
Avis’s crimes are the stuff of horror films. In 2018, he was convicted of sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, sexual assault causing bodily harm, and three counts of forcible confinement.
His sentence: 12 years behind bars. But now, he's free.
Between May and November 2016, while high on crystal meth, Avis trapped and brutally assaulted two women and a 17-year-old girl in Winnipeg. He didn't just attack them — he tormented them.
One victim heard him claim he was "the son of Satan." Another was told he "loved to see women hurt." The courtroom fell silent as those words echoed through the proceedings.
Justice James Edmond of the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench struggled to find words. "It is hard to imagine that a person could do the things described by the victims," he said, calling the behavior "violent, deviant, reprehensible, sadistic."
Crown prosecutor Carrie Ritchot painted an even darker picture. She described chemical burns applied to victims’ genitals and forced penetration with homemade devices. The survivors' identities remain sealed under a publication ban.
Now, Avis is out — but not entirely free. He is under the supervision of the Correctional Service of Canada and bound by a web of strict conditions.
He must live in a designated residential or psychiatric facility approved by authorities. He cannot contact any of his victims. Alcohol and illegal drugs are forbidden. He is barred from any contact with children under 18 unless his parole supervisor gives explicit permission. And he must report every relationship he forms with a female.
Toronto Police issued the public alert because of "his demonstrated risk to the community, including to sex trade workers." The message is stark: be aware, stay vigilant.
This is a man whose past screams danger. And now, he walks among us. The question is: how safe is safe enough?
