The B.C. government has cancelled a program that tested the sexual responses of young sex offenders by attaching sensors to their genitals after it learned one of the medical technicians monitoring the test has been charged with a sexual offence.

The program was supposed to help develop treatments for sex offenders, but Children's Minister Mary Polak says the questionable nature of the procedure outweighs any possible medical benefits.

"Like most British Columbians, I was immediately concerned to learn of the testing being conducted involving young offenders, which is hard to fathom," said Polak.

"I asked staff to examine the use of this procedure and, based on the information provided, I have instructed ministry staff to permanently stop any use of this procedure on youth in provincial facilities in British Columbia,"

Polak said she decided to take quick action to kill the program after discovering one of the medical technicians who conducted the tests was charged this month with sexual assault, although the alleged offence is not related to the government work.

Under the program, sex offenders as young as 13 were required to look at images of nude and semi-nude children and listen to audio descriptions of forced sex while their physical responses were measured.

"The safety and well-being of youth is always the top priority of myself and this ministry, and I believe most citizens would agree that the questionable nature of this procedure outweighs any possible medical benefits. I am told that plans for the young people who receive such testing are not compromised by this decision," she said.

Concerns raised

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association and the Vancouver-based group Justice For Girls raised concerns about the program, with the association saying it was primitive and appeared to be a remnant from the 1950s.

B.C. Children's Representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond is investigating the program, which started 25 years ago, to see if any of the participants were traumatized.

"The Representative for Children and Youth is currently reviewing this program and we will continue to support that review and provide any assistance the Representative requires. But to be clear, this type of procedure will no longer be used," said Polak.

Corrections and Clarifications

  • An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that a researcher working on the penile plethysmograph program was charged with a sexual offence. In fact, it was a medical technician on contract with the provincial government who was charged with a sexual offence. The offence was not related to the penile plethysmograph program. It was also incorrectly reported that researchers were responsible for monitoring the subjects' level of arousal during the tests. In fact, it was medical technicians who performed this task. Aug. 23, 2010 | 3:00 p.m. PT
With files from The Canadian Press