High-risk sex offender surrenders to officials
Turns himself in after media coverage
Susan Lazaruk, Staff reporter
Published: Thursday, November 30, 2006

VANCOUVER - An at-large sex offender who police described as having a high risk to reoffend is back in custody after turning himself in to his parole officer yesterday.

Vancouver police had issued a Canada-wide warrant for the arrest of Marcellus Norman Jacob, 26, after he failed Sunday to return to the halfway house he was required to reside in as part of the conditions of his statutory release from jail for a brutal sexual assault.

Police arrested him just after 4 p.m. yesterday after he walked into a federal parole office in downtown Vancouver.

"He had seen the media coverage," said Tim Goodsell, area director of Corrections Canada. "He said he did a dumb thing and he wanted to do the right thing." Police arrested him without incident.

"Undoubtedly it was the publicity that came out about him that helped," said Vancouver police Const. Howard Chow. "He knew he couldn't stay on the lam."

Jacob will be returned to the federal penitentiary he was released from a month ago after serving two-thirds of a seven-year sentence for a brutal sexual assault of a woman in his hometown of Whitehorse in 2001. The parole board will decide if he will remain in jail or be allowed to return to the halfway house.

slazaruk@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Province 2006