Police warn Calgarians after man convicted of sexual assault released

Calgary police are warning the public about a man convicted of sexual assault who was released into the public Thursday.

Daniel Christopher Mahon, 36, was released into Calgary after serving a five-year, 10-month sentence after being convicted of sexually assaulting a teenager when she was in a public washroom in the city's downtown.

According to police, the assault took place on April 6, 2013, after Mahon approached a teenager girl and convinced her to "hang out" with him.

After excusing herself to use a public washroom, Mahon followed the girl inside and assaulted her.

Bystanders heard her calls for help and intervened, at which point Mahon fled.

In addition to the charge of sexual assault causing bodily harm, Mahon was also convicted of "overcoming resistance by choking" — a charge of forcibly stopping someone from resisting the initial offence.

Mahon is described as five feet 11 inches tall and 252 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

In the release, police said they were issuing the warning "after careful deliberation … including privacy concerns" due to the belief that "it is clearly in the public interest to inform members of the community" of Mahon's release.

Police said Mahon will be supervised by Correctional Services Canada with support from the police service's high-risk offender program.

Members of the public should not undertake vigilante action, according to the release, but instead take "suitable precautionary measures."

The victim, who was 17 when the assault occurred, cannot be identified due to her age and because of the nature of the assault.