Convicted sex offender Patrick Kingsley Knowles was sentenced Friday in Halifax provincial court on five charges of breaching court orders restricting his contact with children. Knowles, 45, received two years less a day in jail, minus remand credit, followed by two years of probation. Photo by File photoArticle contentA convicted sex offender has been sentenced to two years less a day in jail, followed by two years of probation, for violating three types of court orders restricting his contact with children.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentPatrick Kingsley Knowles, 45, pleaded guilty June 3 in Halifax provincial court to two counts of breaching a lifetime prohibition on attending parks, playgrounds, schoolyards, recreation centres and other places children are likely to be present, two counts of breaching the terms of an order under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, and one count of breaching release conditions.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentKnowles, who most recently was living in Eastern Passage, was sentenced Friday by Judge Michael Sherar, who accepted a joint sentencing recommendation from lawyers.Article contentSherar said the court orders were imposed to protect the community in general and young people in particular, and the offences require a sentence that denounces and deters the conduct.Article content“This was more than a momentary lapse of judgment on Mr. Knowles’s behalf,” the judge said.Article content“He must stay away from young persons in an unsupervised capacity. He should not put himself at risk, and he definitely should not put those children at risk.”Article contentKnowles appeared in court Friday via video link from the Southwest Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Yarmouth, where he’s serving a sentence he received in Dartmouth provincial court this May after pleading guilty to four other breach charges.Article contentThe May sentence consisted of 15 months in jail, reduced to 177 days after remand credit, followed by two years of probation.Article contentArticle contentKnowles’s criminal record also includes 2018 convictions for aggravated assault in Halifax and Moncton, N.B., 2019 convictions in Saint John, N.B., for making and accessing child pornography, and 2021 convictions in Dartmouth for possessing and distributing child pornography.Article contentThe 2019 and 2021 sentences both included lifetime prohibitions and SOIRA orders.Article contentContact with boy violated 2019 and 2021 prohibitionsArticle contentOn Friday, Crown attorney Zack Firlotte told the court Knowles was arrested Aug. 17, 2025, after a support worker who helps people with disabilities live independently in the community contacted police.Article contentThe woman and a worker she supervises both advised police that Knowles and his girlfriend had attended a client’s wedding in March 2025 where the bride’s six- or seven-year-old son was present, along with several cousins around his age.Article contentKnowles and his partner developed a relationship with the woman and babysat her boy several times in June and July 2025, the court was told.
‘More than a momentary lapse of judgment’: Nova Scotia sex offender sentenced for breaching court orders
