Paul Bernardo has been denied parole for a third time after the families of his victims made an emotional plea to the Parole Board of Canada on Tuesday to keep him behind bars.
The parole board noted that while Bernardo has made some progress, there is still significant concern about his risk of s3xual recidivism, his narcissistic personality and the results of his clinical assessments, among other issues.
The two-member panel, which deliberated for approximately 30 minutes after Tuesday’s hearing, said its decision also considered the “extremely violent” and serial nature of Bernardo’s crimes and his designation as a dangerous offender.
Bernardo is serving an indeterminate life sentence for the kidnapping, s3xual assault and murder of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont.
The 60-year-old told the board he was primarily seeking day parole at a halfway house, or at a minimum, escorted absences from prison so that he can attend a community program for sex offenders. The board denied both.
The victims’ families made an impassioned case against Bernardo’s bid for release, and said they have been re-traumatized every time his parole hearings come up.
“The biggest destruction of the peace and joy and hope in my life has been and remains Bernardo,” Leslie’s mother, Debbie Mahaffy, told the parole board hearing at the La Macaza Institution in Quebec, where Bernardo is currently held.
“I remain hopeful that you understand the sadistic, manipulative and psychopathic nature of Bernardo’s behaviour and the endless threat he represents to public safety,” she said.
Mahaffy, who spoke of her struggle to forget “the horrors of Leslie’s death,” was overcome by emotion as she delivered her victim impact statement.
Tim Danson, the lawyer representing the French and Mahaffy families, finished reading the statement on her behalf, urging the board to deny Bernardo any type of release due to the heinousness of his crimes and his lack of remorse.
