Child sex offender Gilles Goden has said he intends to move to Vancouver, but Canadian law prohibits British Columbians from finding out if he's living in their neighborhood.
Goden just finished serving a 22-year jail sentence in a prison in California for sex offences against young boys.
Const. Lindsey Houghton of the Vancouver police said Goden landed in Canada Tuesday.
"Any time you have an individual with that history, with that background, it does cause us concern and that's why we're reaching out to the public to let them know," Houghton said.
Police are warning the public that Goden is at high risk to re-offend, but they won't be able to release information on his exact whereabouts.
"There are privacy laws that prevent us from releasing the location of where people live," Houghton said.
The United States has a sexual predator registry which allows citizens to pinpoint the location of high risk criminals, but Canada does not.
"A registry here in Canada would be a tool for police to monitor individuals who are deemed sexual predators in the community," Houghton said.
While Houghton said he doesn't know exactly how many sexual predators are currently living in the Lower Mainland, there are about a dozen members in the police department's high-risk offender unit monitoring them.
Goden is a 55-year-old Caucasian man with graying brown hair and brown eyes. He weighs 110 pounds and is 4-11 tall.
Police are urging anyone who spots Goden breaching his conditions to call 911.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Renu Bakshi
