Paul Bernardo groupie arrested
Hamilton police confirm Lori Kooger was arrested Sept. 20 for disobeying a court order
A woman who used to send love letters to Paul Bernardo has been arrested for breaching her release condition of not associating with minors.
Hamilton police have confirmed the arrest of Lori Kooger, 52, following a report that she was spotted working at the Binbrook Fair earlier this month, which residents became concerned about.
“Once Hamilton Police became aware that Kooger was breaching her conditions, she was arrested and charged with the offence, Disobey Court Order,” Const. Lorraine Edwards said in an email. Edwards said Kooger was arrested on Sept. 20 because she disobeyed a court order that prevented her from attending a public park or public swimming area where a person or persons under the age of 16 are present or can reasonably be expected to be present. (Other such places include a daycare centre, school ground, playground or community centre.)
Kooger, a Stoney Creek resident, gained notoriety in the late 1990s when now-convicted serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo was on trial for torturing and murdering teenaged girls.
She would write long love letters and send them to Bernardo. She kept clippings of newspaper articles about him, and would come to court several hours before the trial began in an effort to get a good seat inside the court house. She even waved at him occasionally, and once told reporters she dreamed of marrying him. In 2009, Kooger was charged with sexual offences involving young boys, both in Durham and Niagara regions. She was acquitted on charges from the Niagara region, but convicted and sentenced on the charges stemming from Oshawa.
She was then sentenced to three years in jail, plus 10 years with no contact with minors and 20 years on registry, according to an August 2011 article in the St. Catharines Standard.
People Ready, a temporary job staffing agency that helps people who are out of jail or on parole to get casual employment, wouldn’t confirm if Kooger went through its offices to find employment at the Binbrook Fair.
An employee at the agency, who identified herself only as Michelle, said the agency is not obligated to run background checks. She said people come to the agency, register and go through health and safety procedures before they’re sent off to
work at various companies. There is no way the agency would know about somebody’s specific history, she said.
She said the agency is similar to a middle man between the workers and the companies hiring them.
“If nobody discloses that information to us, how are we to know? We’re not psychics,” she said. “I’m going to put the onus back to the authorities that, if people are considered dangerous offenders, then I think they’re failing to do their due diligence by letting the employer know about the individual.”
Const. Edwards said it is the hiring company’s obligation to check people’s backgrounds before employing them.
“The onus is on the accused to abide by her conditions,” she said. “It would be incumbent on the employer to ensure the employee is suitable for employment with them. “This is not enforceable by police.”