PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - Crown attorneys in Peterborough, Ont., are delving deep into the past of a man who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl in a bid to declare him a dangerous offender.

Stanley Tippett, 35, was convicted in 2009 on seven counts relating to the attack a year earlier, including kidnapping, sexual assault and sexual interference.

If the judge decides Tippett is a dangerous offender, he could be jailed indefinitely.

After a false start Monday due to a scheduling mix-up, the case began today and heard from three witnesses, including Tippett's elementary school teacher, though she did not testify to any serious incidents with Tippett.

A former grocery store cashier also testified that in 2000, when she was about 21 years old, Tippett became enamoured with her and started showing up when she started work every day and on her breaks for a two-week period.

Court heard that Patricia Canonico was approached by Toronto police, who told her Tippett was dangerous, and her store management got a police order to ban him from the premises.

"It was scary," she said, adding that Tippett brought his young son to the store to introduce her to him and also brought her flowers and candy. "I just got creeped out."

Tippett also showed up at her second job at a tanning salon, even though she never told him she worked there, Canonico said.

Before the hearing was adjourned Monday, Tippett's lawyer Bob Richardson brought to the judge's attention the case of Sharmini Anandavel, a 15-year-old girl whose remains were found four months after she went missing in June 1999.

Tippett was a suspect in the case but never charged, and Richardson said he believes it's one of the reasons the Crown brought a dangerous offender application and is worried it could affect witness testimony.

The trial judge said Tippett's unique head structure allowed several people to positively identify him as the girl's abductor.

He has Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare condition that causes cranial and facial deformities which can affect hearing and speech.

Tippett claimed he offered safe passage to the drunken 12-year-old but was then carjacked by two armed men.

He was arrested, just hours after the girl was found half-naked behind a school 70 kilometres from where she was abducted in Peterborough.