CALGARY -- High-risk sex offender Henri Jean Rusk has dropped his bid to have his court-ordered electronic ankle bracelet removed.

Defence counsel Dean Zuk told court Friday that with winter approaching, the skin irritation Rusk has been suffering because of the warmer weather is no longer a pressing problem.

"Your honour, Mr. Rusk wishes to abandon his application," Zuk told provincial court Judge Anne Brown.

"Because of the cold weather, it's alleviated his suffering," Zuk said.

"Perhaps we'll revisit this issue in the spring."
Brown had earlier heard evidence the bracelet was causing injury to Rusk's skin, but had asked for further testing to determine if Rusk was allergic to the device.

Outside court, Rusk said he has no problem wearing the bracelet in colder weather, because he can wear long johns to protect his skin.

"I've never wanted it off," he said. "I just wanted to stop the abrasion. It's winter now, I'm wearing long johns again."

The monitoring device was one of the probation conditions placed on Rusk after he was ordered to be supervised in the community for three years following a one-year jail term for molesting a woman.

The sentence was imposed in October 2010 after Rusk sexually assaulted a woman six weeks after he served all of a three-year sentence for molesting a wheelchair-bound female.

The leg bracelet allows members of the Calgary Police Service High Risk Offender Program unit to keep track of him.