Judge slams GN for inability to help severely mentally ill

Convicted pedophile Jimmy Partridge of Iqaluit is so likely to assault another child that he's been declared a dangerous offender, the first such designation in Nunavut's judicial history.

That means he'll go to prison indefinitely, though he'll be eligible for parole within three years.

Justice Robert Kilpatrick recommended Partridge, 43, serve his time at a federal psychiatric prison.

"Mr. Partridge has now fallen from the wall," Kilpatrick wrote in a 19-page judgment issued this past week.

"All the king's horses and all the king's men are not able to reassemble the pieces of a life shattered by a toxic combination of profound mental illness and enduring criminality. This fall of Mr. Partridge was to be expected," Kilpatrick said.

Kilpatrick also singled out the Government of Nunavut for its lack of capacity for handling people with severe mental illnesses.

The judge wrote that previous attempts by the court to find long-term care for Partridge were unsuccessful. Nunavut simply does not provide the type of supervision and care for people like Partridge, Kilpatrick wrote.

Without access to treatment, housing, job opportunities or help navigating the confusing myriad of government agencies, Partridge was doomed, Kilpatrick wrote.

"This is the perfect breeding ground for a personality disorder. Criminality will follow," Kilpatrick wrote.

Partridge was recently sentenced for sexual assaults against a pair of young children. He has lengthy criminal record that includes other sex crimes against children, assaults against prison guards and police, and violating court orders.

He's also a diagnosed pedophile and suffers from schizophrenia and a personality disorder.

Defence lawyer Andy Mahar argued Partridge could be prevented from reoffending with a combination of a "strictly supervised community setting" and antipsychotic and sex drive-reducing medication.

But Kilpatrick ruled that wouldn't be enough because Partridge has a history of prison escapes, resistance to taking antipsychotic medication and hasn't stuck with psychotherapy.

Partridge was also banned for life from owning guns, must give a DNA sample to the national database and will be on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life.

He's also barred for life from going near places or taking jobs where children are present and from using a computer to contact children.