A man from the Northwest Territories who was previously convicted of sexual offences against children has had his parole revoked and is now facing new charges related to child sexual abuse. Marcus Bourke, a resident of Fort Smith, committed crimes such as luring children and possessing child sexual abuse material back in 2022 when he was 25 years old.
Between 2016 and 2019, Bourke used fake social media profiles pretending to be popular teen personalities to entice children into sending sexually explicit images and videos, leading to his conviction and a seven-year prison sentence.
The Parole Board of Canada recently made the decision to revoke Bourke’s parole due to his return to criminal behavior. Bourke, who had a warrant issued against him in late March this year, is now facing new charges similar to his previous ones, including possession and creation of child sexual abuse material, luring a child under 14, among others.
Despite being granted full parole in July last year with conditions that included abstaining from alcohol, following a treatment plan, and disclosing all his relationships to his parole supervisor, Bourke displayed a consistent pattern of non-compliance. He failed to adhere to special conditions and even stopped taking prescribed medication meant to curb his alcohol cravings, which increased his risk of reoffending.
The Parole Board expressed concerns about Bourke’s lack of effort in making sustainable changes, relapses into alcohol use during his parole releases, and failure to apply skills learned during programming. An ongoing investigation is underway, and Bourke remains in custody, facing a lifetime sex offender registry order and the potential revocation of his parole as recommended by the Correctional Service of Canada.
During a suspension interview, Bourke avoided discussing his pending charges, admitted to heavy alcohol consumption after stopping his medication, and showed hesitance towards treatment, raising further red flags for the authorities.