Loon Lake man named dangerous offender

Brian Ben, 51, of Loon Lake First Nation, has been named a dangerous offender by Meadow Lake provincial court judge Lorna Dyck. Ben is presently serving a three-year prison term after assaulting an RCMP officer in 2010. The prison term will be followed up by six years of community supervision. Until the Criminal Code was amended in 2008, a dangerous offender designation carried a mandatory indeterminate sentence, meaning the offender could be kept behind bars indefinitely for the sake of public safety. “I have found that an indeterminate sentence is not required in this case as there is a reasonable expectation that a lesser measure will adequately protect the public against the commission by Mr. Ben of murder or a serious personal injury offence,” wrote Judge Dyck.