John Horace Oughton, the sexual predator who terrorized a number of girls and women, including two 11-year-olds from Langley, during the 1980s has been moved from B.C. to the Bowden Institution in Alberta.
Oughton, who is now 62, conducted a series of horrendous sexual assaults between 1977 and 1985. He was dubbed ‘the paper bag rapist’ for his habit of placing a bag over the heads of his victims as he assaulted them. He sometimes wore the disguise himself.
The Langley incident occurred when he lured the two girls into tall grass near the George Preston Recreation Centre, on 208 Street and 42 Avenue.
In 1987, Oughton was found guilty of 14 sex attacks, including rapes, that occurred all over the Lower Mainland. The offences for which he was convicted occurred over a period of 10 years, and while awaiting trial, he admitted to committing between 140 and 150 sexual assaults.
Sentenced to an indeterminate sentence and declared a dangerous offender, Oughton has the right to apply for parole every two years. His last hearing was in 2011.
Even though Oughton has now left the Fraser Valley prison where he has been incarcerated for a quarter of a century, the family of one of the Langley girls vows to attend his next parole hearing.
At last year’s hearing, Oughton agreed with a prison psychiatric assessment that found he was a high risk to re-offend if he was granted parole.
The surprise admission was contained in Oughton’s letter to the National Parole Board the day before he was scheduled to appear for a Sept. 20, 2011 parole review.
In the letter, Oughton announced he was withdrawing from the hearing, claiming it was on the advice of his lawyer.
The psychologist who carried out an assessment rated Oughton’s risk to re-offend “generally, violently and sexually” as high.
BC Corrections does not disclose the reasons for prison transfers, but the father of one of the girls said the family has been assured that an explanation for the move will be made soon.
