An American fugitive from justice reportedly bought a townhouse on Cowichan Road in Chilliwack.
But it’s not clear whether Steven William Dyer, a 44-year-old convicted of child molesting in the U.S., ever lived in the townhouse.
“That’s one of the things that’s being looked at right now,” RCMP Const. Tracy Wolbeck said Monday.
“It’s one of the details that investigators are trying to trace back,” RCMP Sgt. Pound said.
Wolbeck said the RCMP serious crimes unit now has conduct of the Chilliwack part of the investigation, but she added that “we have no evidence to support Mr. Dyer was criminally active in Chilliwack.”
Sgt. Pound told another media outlet last week that part of the RCMP’s investigation will include whether the purchase of the Chilliwack townhouse and a condo in Vancouver constitute crimes.
Dyer was arrested last week in Montreal by Canada Border Services agents.
CBSA investigator Cindy Lepur told The Progress that Dyer bought a house in Chilliwack, but she refused to disclose the address or how long Dyer might have lived there.
She also said Dyer was living under an assumed name, and was employed during the 10 years he lived in Canada, but she again refused to disclose the nature of that employment.
According to a media report, Dyer was living under the name “Brian Woolworth” and worked as a playground designer. He reportedly bought the Chilliwack townhouse in 2008.
Wolbeck said she could not confirm the alias or the Cowichan Road location.
According to the America’s Most Wanted website, Dyer “had a clean criminal history, and portrayed himself as a wealthy, upstanding citizen with a heart of gold, always willing to go out of his way to help others.”
But in 2002, Dyer was convicted in an Arizona court on 12 sex-related charges with a minor and one count of sexual indecency with a minor present.
He faced a minimum prison sentence of 169 years.
Dyer fled the country in 2002 and police say he’s been living in Canada since at least 2004.
Lepur said the CBSA investigation showed Dyer “lived in various locations throughout the Lower Mainland.”
Dyer has now been sent back to the U.S.
