A sexual offender with a history of breaching his long-term supervision order has been re-arrested by the RCMP.

John Walter Sam was reported in breach of his residential curfew at 9:50 Wednesday night by officials with the Salvation Army's Adult Resource Centre across the Alaska Highway from the Whitehorse airport.

A search of the wooded area near the centre by officers and Ryder the police dog resulted in Sam's arrest at 11:15 p.m.

He is currently in custody and charges of violating his release conditions are pending.

Sam, who's been described as a high risk to re-offend, was in the centre for the curfew check but was noted as missing shortly before the police were called.

He was sentenced in 2002 to 3 1/2 years in prison for fondling a young girl. In 1991, he was convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl at knifepoint, and was sentenced to seven years.

Following his initial release on the 2002 conviction in February 2005, he was arrested in July for breach of his supervision order and was sent back to jail.

He was re-released last October,but was arrested again in November for another breach, and sent back to jail until his latest release last January.

Dennis Finlay, the regional communications manager for Corrections Services Canada, said this morning from Vancouver that Corrections Services officials are reviewing the matter in co-operation with the RCMP.

The review will determine whether charges should be recommended to the federal Crown prosecutor's office, he explained.

'In a case like this long-term supervision order, when somebody commits a breach, and certainly leaving a halfway house without telling anyone and being at large, would constitute a breach, we have the option of bringing him into custody.

'After we've done that, we can make an assessment of the case.'

Under the provision of long-term supervision orders, Sam can be held up to 90 days while the Crown decides whether to pursue charges, he said.

Finlay said if charges are laid, the offender can be held in remand custody until they're dealt with by the courts.

But if charges are not laid, the offender must be released after 90 days, and in all likelihood the offender would be released at whatever point the Crown decided not to proceed, he said.

Long-term supervision orders last for 10 years from the original date of release, but do not include any time offenders serve in jail subsequent to their release.

The next step up is a dangerous offender designation, which puts an offender under the supervision of Corrections Services for the rest of his life, and could potentially be held in jail for the rest of his life.