Bernardo has applied for day parole in Toronto
‘Dangerous offender’ designation makes release unlikely: expert
Paul Bernardo, Canada’s most notorious murderer and rapist, has applied for day parole in the Toronto area, the Star has learned.
Bernardo was convicted 20 years ago of murdering two teenage school girls, Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French. He was sentenced to life in prison with no hope of parole for 25 years.
However, notices from Correctional Service Canada went out last week to at least one of his victims, advising her Bernardo had applied for day parole in the Toronto area.
Criminal lawyer Daniel Brown says Bernardo’s chances of release from jail, now or in the future, however, are virtually nil.
“I can’t think of any murderer designated a ‘dangerous offender’ who has been granted parole,” he said. “Simply being eligible for parole means very little to the parole board.”
After his trial, Bernardo confessed to raping 14 women as the dreaded Scarborough rapist. Rather than going through another trial, the Crown applied that he be declared a dangerous offender — a designation reserved for Canada’s most violent criminals and sexual predators. Bernardo agreed.
“Simply being eligible for parole means very little to the parole board." DANIEL BROWN CRIMINAL LAWYER
The notice from Correctional Service Canada has shocked one of Bernardo’s rape victims. She never got to testify against her attacker, since there was no trial.
“All these years, I’ve assumed being deemed a dangerous offender meant he could never get paroled,” she said. Now, she wonders if she was duped.
The letter instructs her to submit her victim impact statement as well as her views on his “possible conditional release” by July14, if she wants it to be included in the “case preparation process” by Bernardo’s parole officer.
“You can also request a “no contact” condition, as this type of condition is not automatically imposed,” the letter states, adding “Please keep in mind that all information you provide must be shared with the inmate, but your personal information (address and phone number, etc.) will remain confidential.”
In Canada, “dangerous offenders” can apply for day parole three years before their full parole eligibility date. Day parole means the offender must report back to jail or a half-way house at night.
According to Public Safety Canada’s national guide to high-risk offenders, day parole is typically preceded by a number of escorted and then unescorted “temporary absences” to prove the offender’s performance.
Correctional Services Canada spokesperson Kyle Lawlor would not comment on Bernardo’s application or state whether he has be granted temporary absences, citing the Privacy Act.
Most criminals convicted of firstdegree murder serve an average of 35 years before being granted parole, said Brown. With the addition of the status as “dangerous offender,” the parole board will be doubly cautious.
“A ‘dangerous offender’ finding is very significant,” he said.
Bernardo is considered Canada’s most violent and perverse criminal. During his murder trial, the jury watched videotapes of him violently raping both Mahaffy and French, before killing them.
Both teenagers were kidnapped by Bernardo and his fiancé-turned-wife, Karla Homolka.
The two also drugged Homolka’s younger sister Tammy and raped her. The 15-year-old girl choked on her vomit and died the next day.
Nine years ago, while in jail, Bernardo confessed to sexually assaulting at least 10 additional women before being arrested by police in 1992.
Homolka was freed from prison in 2005, after serving a 12-year-sentence. In 2012, she was tracked down by journalist Paula Todd on the Carribean island of Guadeloupe, where she was living with her husband and three children.
“All these years, I’ve assumed being deemed a dangerous offender meant he could never get paroled.” ONE OF PAUL BERNARDO’S VICTIMS, WHO RECEIVED A LETTER FROM CORRECTIONAL SERVICE CANADA ADVISING HER SHE COULD SUBMIT A VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT TO OPPOSE THE KILLER’S BID FOR DAY PAROLE