Angry outburst during Froese court appearance
Emotions ran high in a Kamloops courtroom this morning as a convicted serial rapist alleged to have kidnapped and sexually assaulted an employee at a North Shore business in November made a brief appearance by video.
Jack Froese has been in custody since his arrest on Nov. 24, the day after an incident which police allege saw a woman kidnapped from her place of work and sexually assaulted over a period of hours.
The 31-year-old is facing a number of serious charges, including kidnapping, sexual assault and administering a noxious substance.
For today's brief hearing, more than a half-dozen apparent friends and family members of the victim of the November incident filled two rows in the gallery in Courtroom 2D at the Kamloops Law Courts.
At one point, one of the men shouted angrily, "Bring him down! Give him bail!"
He was told by the judge to quiet down, which he did.
Defence lawyer Jeremy Jensen sought and was granted a two-month adjournment, due to what he described as a decision by officials at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre to not let him meet face-to-face with his client during a scheduled visit last week.
"He [one of the KRCC supervisors] said, 'Mr. Jensen, you can speak to Mr. Froese behind the glass on the telephone or not at all,'" the lawyer said, adding conversations through visitor telephones can be monitored.
"I know Mr. Froese is anxious to move this file forward, and it's in the interest of all involved to have this file move forward."
Jensen said he'd been told he will now be able to meet Froese in private at KRCC.
Froese has a long criminal record including multiple convictions for violent sexual offences, and has served lengthy terms in federal institutions. According to parole documents, he's refused treatment in the past.
Last May, when Froese was released from a federal prison and took up residence with family in Kamloops, he was the subject of a rare warning from the RCMP.
Police at the time released his picture, a list of some of his past offences and the conditions he was to abide by in the community.
After he was arrested in November, Kamloops RCMP Supt. Yves Lacasse said Mounties checked in on Froese 146 times in the 147 days he was living in Kamloops.
Froese is slated to return to court on March 8.
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