HAY RIVER - The Department of Justice has discovered the reason a Deline man was accidentally released from a Hay River jail in August.

Colin Gordon, the director of corrections, said an investigation has determined the release was the result of ambiguity in a warrant on file at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre (SMCC).

"The staff didn't check out the ambiguity," he said.

Gordon explained the warrant listed a number of charges dating back several months before the accidental release. Some of the charges had been dealt with by a court, a sentence handed down and the inmate was eligible to be released on those matters.

"The assumption was the other charges were dealt with, but they weren't," Gordon said.

Those other charges, which Gordon declined to specify because of privacy restrictions, meant the inmate should have continued to be remanded in custody.

The inmate - 27-year-old Darren Lee Kenny - remains at large. While he was released on Aug. 18, the mistake didn't come to light until Nov. 5 when Fort Smith RCMP contacted the SMCC about travel arrangements to bring Kenny to a Nov. 16 trial. Kenny was on remand awaiting a Supreme Court trial on charges of sexual assault and breach of probation.

Gordon said a Department of Justice directive has been issued to all correctional facilities to prevent similar errors in the future, stating that if staff members find any ambiguity in an inmate's records they must call the clerk of the court.

There will be no disciplinary action taken against any staff members at SMCC because of the accidental release, he added. "This is clearly just a mistake. It didn't come from negligence."

Kenny did not appear in Fort Smith for the scheduled Nov. 16 trial on a sexual assault charge related to an incident in that community on Oct. 9, 2008.

As of late last week, Fort Smith RCMP Sgt. Grant Payne said Kenny had not yet been apprehended.

Payne said a warrant has been issued for Kenny's arrest.

The sergeant said some tips have been received through Crime Stoppers about Kenny's possible whereabouts, although he declined to offer details about where the missing inmate might be. "He's not believed to be in the Fort Smith area," Payne said.

According to a description from the RCMP, Kenny is aboriginal, 183 cm (six feet) tall, weighs 72 kg (159 pounds), and has black hair and brown eyes.