Reduxx has learned that a convicted pedophile is the individual who had been protected by swimming pool staff after mothers expressed concerns about his presence in the women’s locker room. Parents and concerned citizens had been sounding the alarm about the man, who some say they had caught watching their young daughters undress, but were told he had a right to use the facilities as a “transgender woman.”
In February, Reduxx reported that a mother had been threatened with arrest by staff at the Aquatic Centre in Nanaimo, British Columbia, after attempting to remove a male from the women’s locker rooms she said had been acting in a predatory manner towards her children. The man, who she described as wearing a wig and a face mask, had been peeping under the stall into the one where her young daughter had been changing.
Reduxx has now identified the man with the help of members of the community, and learned he is a convicted child sex offender. Jeremy Melvin Carlson now goes by Riley Otter — sometimes spelling his first name “Rhylie” or “Rhiley.”
In 2019, Carlson, who was 28 at the time, was sentenced to 14 months in jail and 24 months probation for sexual interference against a young person.
He admitted to touching an 8-year-old girl for sexual purposes on nine separate occasions while in a position of trust from December 2015 to September 2016. According to Vernon news site InfoTel, Carlson told police that he touched the child with his penis and fondled her genitals.
The girl eventually disclosed the abuse to her mother, who reported it to the RCMP. Carlson pleaded guilty to the charges in 2017. He later applied to have his guilty plea withdrawn but did not continue the bid and reverted back to a guilty plea.
The case gained national attention in 2018 when the victim’s mother read an impact statement aloud in court during the sentencing hearing in Kelowna, British Columbia, noting that her daughter had been severely traumatized by Carlson’s abuse.
“As a result of this trauma, (my daughter) continues to have nightmares,” the mother said, as reported by The Daily Courier. “(She) does not feel comfortable walking to school alone or with her siblings … She fears being in public places because she does not want to run into the offender.”
She also said that her daughter’s self-esteem had been negatively affected by the assaults and added: “I feel like I have completely failed my daughter as I was not able to protect my baby.”
While the victim’s mother was reading the statement, Judge Monica McParland dabbed a tear from her eye. This caused defense counsel Jacqueline Halliburn to make an application for the judge to recuse herself due to judicial bias.
McParland later dismissed the application, arguing that the victim impact statement was “highly emotional and moving” and that “there is nothing wrong with the court having a compassionate or empathetic response to it.”
During the sentencing, news outlets also reported that Carlson had started identifying as a woman. He had changed his name to “Rhiley Melvin Carlson” and was taking hormone replacement therapy.
The Daily Courier reported that “uncertainty was expressed in the court concerning whether or not Carlson would serve a jail sentence with men or women, and if sexual offender treatment would be available since it is typically geared toward men.”
The Crown sought a 15 to 20 months jail sentence and two years’ probation. Defense counsel argued that circumstances such as Carlson’s heavy marijuana use and struggles with gender identity and depression warranted a light sentence of only 90 days, despite admitting that he had “poor sexual boundaries.”
McParland felt that a strong denunciatory sentence was warranted in the case, with one aggravating factor being that Carlson has attempted to blame the young victim for the offense. She added that Carlson had to receive psychiatric treatment during his probation and barred him from being alone with children under 16, as well as from places where children under 16 could be present, such as swimming pools, community centers, schools, and daycares. Carlson was also added to the sex offender registry for 20 years.
Despite these conditions, concerned citizens have come forward to identify Carlson as the man who was spotted using the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre women’s facilities and closely watching the young girls.
In February of this year, Reduxx reported that a mother had come forward after a man in a wig who claimed to identify as “female” walked into the women’s changing room and tried to peer under the changing stall her daughter was using.
The mother confronted the man, who said that he had a “human right” to be in there, and escorted him out of the changing room. When she reported the incident to pool staff, she was warned that she could be arrested and charged for her actions instead. Other local parents also came forward with reports of having run-ins with the man at the Aquatic Centre.
More recently, Facebook users have been sharing around a screenshot taken from a March 20 post about a convicted child sexual abuser in a Facebook group called Predators Of Vancouver Island. The post identifies the man pictured as Carlson and says that he has a current case open against him for another sexual assault on a child.
Reduxx confirmed the source of the photos and received confirmation that the man pictured is indeed Jeremy Carlson, a.k.a. “Riley/Rhylie Otter.”
Two anonymous sources who had independently encountered the man in the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre changing room on separate occasions also confirmed with Reduxx that it was the same man as the one pictured in the post.
“That’s 100% the person,” one member of the community told Reduxx. “I’m just so upset our justice system isn’t doing anything about it,” the source said. “They can’t charge him, not enough evidence, even though he breached by… not letting the sex offender list [know] he changed his name. Our system is a joke.”
A second source also identified the man in the pictures as having been the one present in the Nanaimo Aquatic Center locker rooms.
“I can anonymously confirm that was the person I saw and confronted in the changeroom watching a young girl change, yes,” she said, adding that she had also been in contact with the police but was told they had “hit a dead end.”
Reduxx also spoke to a concerned citizen who had been trying to get answers from Judge McParland in Kelowna and Crown council in Nanaimo about why Carlson was allowed access to the Aquatic Centre given his restrictions.
“I tried using online court services to see his conditions … and crown had said there [was] a public ban and that cops were well informed of Jeremy’s actions around the island as there were alot of incidents with that person,” he explained.
“Cops won’t touch it [because] of trans issues now,” he added. “I’m honestly really shocked that the Nanaimo pool would continue to allow [Carlson]… to go there after numerous police were called and file numbers were taken. The police say they can’t do anything.”
Reduxx has reached out to the Nanaimo RCMP for details on whether the investigation into Carlson is ongoing, but did not receive a response in time for publication. This article will be updated in the event a response is received.
Reduxx also reached out to the Nanaimo Aquatic Center and received confirmation from an assistant manager that the matter was currently with police, but that no comment could be given at this time.
EDIT, 4/20/23: Reduxx added a detail clarifying that the sources who confirmed Carlson’s identity all reported having seen Carlson in the women’s locker room of the Nanaimo Aquatic Center on separate dates, independent of one another.
EDITOR’S NOTE, 4/26/23: Reduxx has made contact with the RCMP constable who investigated the complaints into Riley Otter. Despite multiple eye-witnesses lodging formal reports with the RCMP about Otter’s presence in the women’s locker room at the Aquatic Center, the constable stated that the investigation into Otter was concluded with no action needed. The constable refused to provide details on how the investigation was conducted, becoming hostile when asked for details.
Reduxx is your source of pro-woman, pro-child safeguarding news and commentary. We’re 100% independent! Support our mission by joining our Patreon, or consider making a one-time donation.
