Dangerous offender already up for parole

Penticton’s David Bobbitt called ‘psychopath’ for 2011 sexual assault

Only three years after being declared a dangerous offender and “the very definition of a psychopath,” David Bobbitt became eligible for parole, according to documents obtained by the Okanagan Saturday.

Bobbitt was handed an indeterminate prison sentence in March 2015 resulting from the sexual assault and confinement of a woman and her toddler son inside his second-hand store in downtown Penticton in 2011.

He was arrested four days after the incident and has been in custody since.

But despite facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars, Bobbitt became a candidate for release in July 2018, and had his case considered again just last week.

“A dangerous offender serving an indeterminate sentence is required by law to be reviewed by the Parole Board of Canada seven years after the offender entered custody,” the board said in a statement.

“Should they be denied parole they are entitled to a legislated review every two years thereafter, as per… the Criminal Code of Canada.”

Conservative MP Dan Albas said he’s concerned about the effects those regular hearings will have on Bobbitt’s victim.

“I’m very concerned by the very real cost to the victim and her family being re-victimized through this process,” said Albas, who represents Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola.

“As a Conservative, I want to make sure women, wherever they are in Canada, can walk safely knowing the law has their back.”

Albas’s party was still in power in 2015, when one of its signature justice reforms, the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, came into force.

The MP said he will now take a fresh look at the file in light of Bobbitt’s case.

“I’m going to personally research further to see if there’s a way to make sure re-victimization doesn’t happen,” said Albas, a former member of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

As difficult as the prospect of parole may be for victims, a B.C. prisoners’ advocate said it actually helps protect the public.

“Being eligible for consideration of conditional release to the community is important so that prisoners do not lose hope that they will be able to re-enter society one day. If they had no hope, they would have no reason to address the issues that led to their offences,” Jennifer Metcalfe, the executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services, said in an email.

“The vast majority of prisoners have experienced trauma in their lives, including high rates of childhood abuse.

“If they are able to receive mental health services to allow them to understand and heal from their own trauma, they will be more likely to understand their own offences and the impact their actions had on others.”

Metcalfe emphasized it’s the parole board that makes the final decision on release, and it wouldn’t allow an offender to simply walk away from prison with no strings attached.