Septuagenarian high-risk sex offender busted with child porn in Chilliwack

Convicted of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl, Richard Ian Ellis is out on bail in the community facing trial in March

A 76-year-old man convicted of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl 18 years ago and who was subject to a public notification when he moved to Chilliwack in 2017 is now scheduled to go on trial for child porn in March 2025.

Richard Ian Ellis is charged with one count possession of child pornography for an allegation on August 19, 2021. His trial is scheduled for March 25, 26, 27, 2025, with a pre-trial conference set for Feb. 4, 2025.

Ellis was convicted of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl and for child pornography in 2007.

In 2014, his sentence was over and Vancouver police warned the public that he was living in that city. At the time, police said they believed the then 66-year-old posed a risk of "significant harm" to the safety of young girls.

Then in 2017, after a public notification stated that Ellis would be living in Hope, rumours circulated that in fact he was not living in that community. Soon after, a notification was issued by the corrections branch of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General that Ellis would be living in Chilliwack.

Ellis was subject to a series of conditions, including: not having a computer to access the internet; he could not be around children under the age of 18; he could not have contact with the victim; and he was not allowed to consume alcohol or drugs and he must report all relationships.

Born in 1948, Ellis is now 76 and described as white, 5’10” tall and 200 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Richard Ian Ellis has gone by several aliases over the years, including: Gary Wilson Ellis, Robert Ellis and Donald Raymond Waddell.

According to Court Services Online, Ellis has a criminal history in B.C. dating back to the 1990s, mostly for theft and possession of stolen property. He has a criminal history in Manitoba as well.

Some of Ellis's previous criminal past in B.C.:

• 1986 – Charged with multiple counts of possession of stolen property and "escape/fail to appear" in B.C. from a location in Winnipeg, the file was transferred back to Manitoba.
• 1998 – Convicted of theft and several counts of possession of stolen property in Surrey, and on two other files, thefts in Vancouver.
• 2001-2002 – In court in Oliver and Richmond facing charges of theft $5,000 or under and possession of stolen property $5,000 or under from a location on the University Endowment Lands in Vancouver. Those files were transferred in province.
• 2002 – In court in Penticton, convicted of one count of theft $5,000 or under and one count of possession of stolen property $5,000 or under from the University Endowment Lands.
• 2017 – The year he transferred to Chilliwack, Ellis was in court regarding three separate allegations that his Charter rights were violated, namely: section 7, right to a fair hearing; section 9, right not to be arbitrarily detained; and section 15, which addresses equality rights, protecting people from from discrimination based on race, religion, sex, age, and other factors. Neither the substance, the outcome nor the location of this hearing on this file is available online.

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Paul J. Henderson
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