VANCOUVER — High-risk B.C. sex offender Randall Hopley, who went on the run for 10 days in November, will still be allowed overnight community leave with the approval of his parole officer, after the parole board decided not to impose new restrictions.
Premier David Eby said he "can't fathom" the ruling and it wasn't acceptable that Hopley, who abducted a three-year-old boy in 2011, had been given the same conditions for his long-term supervision order.
"Clearly there is something that is not working here. Clearly there is a problem here," Eby said at an unrelated news conference on Wednesday.
However a spokesman for the premier's office said there was "no indication" Hopley has been released on bail, as he faces new charges related to breaches of his conditions.
The parole board did not immediately respond when asked if Hopley was still in custody.
The board said in its decision issued on Friday that Hopley repeatedly breached conditions of a long-term supervision order before walking away from a halfway house in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Nov. 4.
It said that in addition to the abduction, Hopley had convictions for sexually assaulting a five-year-old boy and assaulting a woman. He had also admitted a range of sexual offences against a prepubescent girl and two young boys, the decision said.
Conditions of Hopley's release include that he not be near children or children's places, that he live in a specified residential facility under curfew and that he have no access to the internet.
But the parole board decision says Hopley's release under the supervision order had been suspended four times since 2019 for various breaches of conditions.
"[You] were secretive in your association with another high-profile sex offender and spent a lot of time buying lingerie and accessing pornography and dating sites," the decision said of Hopley's behaviour in 2018
In November 2022, his release was suspended again after he was seen using a computer at a library, browsing underwear advertisements, reading an article about a young boy and being within a metre of a group of children in the library.
But the parole board said there was no evidence the various breaches were related to Hopley's authorization for overnight leave, and no changes were needed to the supervision order.
However, it said it was "highly concerning" that Hopley had cut off his monitoring bracelet while on the run in November.
Eby said he would talk to federal authorities about Hopley's case.
"It's not acceptable. I'll be reaching out to federal counterparts about this, so they can address this," he said.
The board's decision, which was made public on Wednesday, came after the Correctional Service of Canada recommended that Hopley be stripped of leave privileges.
Hopley received a 10-year supervision order after serving a six-year prison term for abducting the three-year-old boy in southeastern B.C.
He went on the run after failing to show up in court in November to face charges of breaching the supervision order, and the parole board says police have recommended additional charges for absconding.
Vancouver Sgt. Steve Addison told media after his arrest that police would recommend to Crown counsel that Hopley be denied bail and remain in custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2024.
The Canadian Press
