Toronto police are asking for the public’s help in tracking down a man who investigators allege hid a dead person’s body and who may be a threat to vulnerable populations in the city.
Police are searching for Rejean Hermel Perron, who they say has a history of sexual assault. The 52-year-old is wanted both for parole violations and as the suspect in an ongoing indignity to a human body investigation.
“We believe he may be exploiting vulnerable and marginalized people in Toronto, including sex workers, underhoused persons and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community,” Supt. Kim O’Toole said at a news conference Wednesday.
The search stems from an investigation that started on May 27, when officers discovered a body in an apartment in the Broadview Avenue and Dundas Street E. area. An autopsy showed the person, who police are currently not identifying, had died of natural causes.
Investigators previously notified the public about the incident, saying a suspect — now believed to be Perron — was aware someone in the apartment was dead but didn’t call police.
O’Toole said Wednesday that “deliberate steps” were taken to hide the body in the apartment, but she wouldn’t specify how.
“We allege the indignity to a human body is concealing the body within the apartment in the manner that it was concealed,” she said.
Toronto police have identified a 52-year-old convicted sex offender who they say hid the body of a dead person inside an apartment in the Broadview Avenue and Dundas Street East area. The man has been wanted on a Canada-wide arrest warrant since 2021 for violating his parole conditions.
O’Toole also said police were first called to the residence after the person missed an appointment with a community support worker, who then called police.
Even before the incident, Perron was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for breaching a long-term supervision order stemming from a three-year sentence handed down in 2015 for forcible confinement, sexual assault with a weapon and using an imitation firearm during the commission of an indictable offence, police say.
He was released on parole in 2021. “He’s essentially been off the grid until this investigation,” O’Toole said.
She also said the deceased was part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and investigators believe that may have contributed to their vulnerability.
“He had befriended our deceased and they were known to be seen together frequently,” O’Toole said.
“Police are deeply concerned that he may be sustaining himself by exploiting vulnerable individuals, as he did in this case.”
Investigators describe Perron as about five feet, two inches tall with dark hair, blue eyes, a thin build, and “possibly a pock-marked face.” He may also be using the aliases Daniel Joseph Christie, Kristy, or Krysty, police say.
O’Toole said police believe Perron is still in Toronto and frequents the downtown east side of the city.
He is also known to have spent time in Kingston and in the Chatham-Kent area, she added.
Investigators are specifically asking for help from people who work with vulnerable communities in Toronto who might not have recognized Perron, especially if he was using an alias.
“No tip is too small or insignificant,” O’Toole said.
Anyone who recognizes Perron or who has information about his whereabouts is being asked to contact police.
Investigators are also inviting members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community who have questions or who are seeking support to reach out to the force’s LGBTQ liaison officers, who can be reached at 416-808-7070.