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Feared Edmonton rapist now living in B.C. halfway house, confirms parole board
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
VANCOUVER - A man who admitted raping dozens of women in Edmonton in the late 1970s and early 1980s now is living in a B.C. halfway house, the National Parole Board confirmed Wednesday. Larry Takahashi, dubbed the balaclava rapist, was released on day parole last week after spending almost 20 years of a life sentence in prison. The board decided to try Takahashi on day parole for six months despite a pre-release report saying offenders like him are still at a moderate to high risk to re-offend. The board also broke with normal practice of not revealing a parolee's destination, saying Thursday that Takahashi had consented to disclose he would be staying at a halfway house somewhere in British Columbia. The disclosure confirmed comments from the Edmonton police last Thursday. The board on Wednesday released the pre-release report on Takahashi, who had been imprisoned at the federal minimum-security Ferndale Institution, about 60 kilometres east of Vancouver. Takahashi, now 51, was convicted in 1984 of 14 counts of rape and sexual assault between 1979 and 1983, and sentenced to three concurrent life terms. He admitted to attacking up to 30 women while leading a double life as a model citizen by day and a ruthless rapist by night. His usual pattern was to attack women in Edmonton highrise apartments, wearing a balaclava to hide his face. A fingerprint discovered on an unscrewed lightbulb at one attack led to his arrest. Takahashi was eligible for full parole in 1991 and was granted escorted day passes in 1997. In its pre-release report, the parole board noted he had spent the last seven years in minimum-security imprisonment and that two out of three offenders like him do not commit indictable offences after release. However it noted "actuarial measures" indicated Takahashi was a moderate to high risk for violent and sexual recidivism. The report outlined Takahashi's increasing sexual deviancy, which went from peeping in women's windows at night and masturbating to breaking into their homes and sexually assaulting them. A psychiatrist last fall recommended he be given medication to reduce his sex drive. The report noted Takahashi had participated in several treatment programs while in prison but a slow-release plan was recommended. He completed more than 400 escorted temporary absences from prison without incident. At his parole hearing, Takahashi acknowledged the devastating impact of his crimes on the victims and expressed remorse, the report said. "Given the progress you have made in addressing contributing factors to your offences, a highly structured day parole with external controls and risk-management safeguards in place would not place the community at undue risk of your reoffending," the report concluded. The restrictions placed on Takahashi's parole, including requirements to continue psychological counselling and community-based sex-offender treatment. He also faces curfew between 4:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. because committed his crimes at night. Takahashi was also ordered to stay away from intoxicants and pornography and have no contact with his victims unless they requested it under the existing victim-offender mediation program. © Copyright 2003 Canadian Press | |||||||
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Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) CCRA Provisions Relating to Victims CCRA Victim Definitions The CCRA defines who will be considered a victim for the purposes of the Act. Precise definition is required because the discretionary information which can be released to victims essentially overrides the protections provided by the Privacy Act. Three categories of "victim" are defined in the Act. Part I, section 2, provides two of the definitions. These definitions also apply to the NPB (Part II, subsection 99(1)). "Victim" a. means a person to whom harm was done or who suffered physical or emotional damage as a result of the commission of an offence, and b. where the person described in paragraph (a) is dead, ill, or otherwise incapacitated, includes the spouse or any relative of that person, anyone who has in law or fact the custody of that person or is responsible for the care and support of that person or any dependent of that person; These definitions do not distinguish between individuals who are victims of offences for which the offender is currently serving a sentence, and individuals who were victims of previous offences, sentences and incarcerations. The sections of the CCRA which direct the disclosure of information to victims provide an additional definition of victim. This third definition is found in subsections 26(3) and 142(3). It permits information on an offender also to be given to a person who is able to satisfy the Commissioner/Chairperson a. that harm was done to the person, or the person suffered physical or emotional damage, as a result of an act of an offender, whether or not the offender was prosecuted or convicted for that act; and b. that a complaint was made to the police or the Crown Attorney, or an information was laid under the Criminal Code, in respect of that act. The offender need not have been convicted or even formally charged. Both criteria must be met for recognition. This definition was added to the Act following consultations that preceded finalization of the CCRA. Some victims, in particular a group of women who had all been the victims of the "Balaclava Rapist", noted that they would not be included under the first definition because the charges pertaining to their victimization were not proceeded with. In the case of the Balaclava rapist, although the offender was accused or suspected in more than 100 sexual assaults, most of the charges were stayed or withdrawn by the Crown after the offender pled guilty to a small proportion and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The victims argued that their right to offender information was as valid as that of the women whose cases were fully prosecuted, and this was acknowledged by the legislators. |
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