The RCMP have issued a notification to the public that a long-term offender being released from custody today is planning to move back to Whitehorse.

John Walter Sam, 42, was last taken into custody in November for breaching his conditions by refusing to meet with his risk management committee. He is scheduled to be released from a corrections facility in British Columbia today.

'As Sam poses a moderate to high risk of reoffending, the RCMP has decided to release a public notification to raise community awareness and enhance community safety,' states the notification issued Tuesday afternoon by the RCMP's M Division.

Sam has a medium build, is about five feet, eight inches tall and weighs about 190 lbs. He is a first nations man with brown eyes and brown shoulder-length hair.

As a designated long-term offender with a long-term supervision order, Sam is under the supervision of Correctional Service Canada until 2016.

Evelyn Blair, a National Parole Board spokeswoman, said among the conditions in his statutory release, Sam must:

reside at a community residential facility and abide by the rules of that facility;

abstain from all intoxicants;

have no contact with the victim; and

have no contact with children under 18 unless supervised by an adult who's approved in advance and in writing by his parole officer.

As part of the longer-term order, Sam must:

not drive a vehicle except with permission of his parole officer;

follow psychological counselling and/or psychiatric treatment; and

participate in the community sex offender program.

The RCMP noted Sam is also not allowed to dress as a woman, as he has in the past, nor walk on the city's trail system. He must be visible while walking on the main roadway.

Anyone who sees Sam breaching his conditions is asked to call the RCMP immediately.

Before he was released last October, a similar notification was sent out to the public. At that time, Sam was being released after having served a sentence for breaching his supervision order.

He had been sentenced to 27 months for escaping and being at large and the breach of the order, but received a two-to-one credit for the 7 1/2 months he spent in pre-trial custody.

Sam first moved back to Whitehorse in 2005 after he served a 3 1/2-year sentence for fondling a young girl.

He was deemed a long-term offender in 2002.