WOODSTOCK - The Oxford County Crown attorney's office says it will seek a dangerous offender designation for Craig Vannatter before he faces sentencing later this year.
The 36-year-old Tillsonburg resident was found guilty Tuesday for crimes that included abduction and forcible confinement of a five-year-old girl.
Individuals can be designated as dangerous offenders during sentencing if it is proven there's a high risk they will commit future violent or sexual offences. People designated as dangerous offenders are subject to longer -- or indeterminate -- prison sentences.
Vannatter has several previous convictions for sexual assault, all with young victims. Justice David Little also found Vannatter guilty of two breaches of probation, including violating a no-contact order with children under the age of 14.
Little said evidence provided by the mother of the five-year-old child rang true and described Vannatter's testimony that he walked into a women's washroom and found the young girl already there "pure fiction."
"The accused gave evidence. I did not believe him," Little said. "Such confinement and deprivation is without any lawful excuse. The accused knew what he was doing, got caught and fled and concocted his defense."
A ban is in place preventing the publication of any information that would identify the victim.
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