Man previously convicted of horrific child sex abuse arrested again

A man who'd already served time for a violent sexual assault of a nine-year-old boy has been charged in connection with a series of “suspicious incidents” involving children.

Lucas Petrini - Source: tps.ca

A man who'd already served time for a violent sexual assault of a nine-year-old boy has been charged in connection with a series of “suspicious incidents” involving children.

Lucas Petrini, now 34 years old, was arrested and charged in connection with the series of suspicious incidents near Toronto’s High Park on Tuesday.

According to a statement made by police, Toronto Police Services launched an investigation after numerous reports of an adult male touching children and trying to lure them to an unknown location. As part of that investigation, on Mar.4 officers were patrolling the area and located the suspect, arresting Petrini.

Petrini was charged with ten counts of failure to comply with a long-term supervision order and two counts of assault.

The long-term supervision order relates to a previous conviction for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a young boy at knifepoint in 2008.

Court documents on that crime explain how Petrini abducted the boy at knifepoint while he was walking home from school, and forced him into a nearby residence.

Once inside, he threatened the boy’s life while repeatedly sexually assaulting him over a six-hour period.

After serving a reduced sentence of eight years, Petrini was released from a Kingston prison in 2018 under a strict 10-year long-term supervision order.

As part of his release conditions, he was placed on the lifetime sex offender registry and required to return each night to a designated halfway house.

However, legal documents reveal that Petrini violated his supervision order twice—once in 2020 and again in 2023.

At a Parole Board of Canada hearing in November 2024, additional restrictions were imposed, barring him from contacting minors without parole officer approval, mandating continued counselling for sexual self-regulation, and prohibiting him from entering establishments that serve alcohol.

The parole board additionally noted: “Having considered all the relevant factors in your case, the board is satisfied that no appropriate program of supervision can be established that would adequately protect society from the risk of your reoffending.”