A Surrey man who has served 16 months of a four-year jail sentence for molesting a boy for years has been denied full and day parole because he still poses a risk to society.
The man, who can only be identified as R.R.B. due to a publication ban, admitted in 2012 to sexually assaulting a minor. Two other charges of sexual exploitation involving two boys were stayed.
During his trial, the court heard that R.R.B. molested the child for at least five years. The abuse only ended when the boy was 14 and his mother discovered sexually explicit text message conversations with the offender on her son’s cellphone.
A Parole Board of Canada decision dated Dec. 17, 2013 said that while R.R.B. scored well on tests assessing recidivism, his case management team views him at a higher risk.
“When one considers your repeated offending over multiple years, reports of additional victims, and your continued struggle with accountability and understanding of your risk factors, your risk for re-offending is higher than the actuarial tools would indicate,” reads the decision.
The parole board documents indicate R.R.B. has completed sex offender programs while in jail and appears to be making gains in understanding his offence and its impact on the victim. His case manager, however, said he needs to demonstrate said progress and as such, did not support day or full parole – a view his institutional parole officer agreed with.
The decision notes R.R.B. displays a “very entitled” attitude when dealing with his case worker, who he views as lacking knowledge, and that he feels he’s being “singled out” because he’s a high-profile inmate.
The parole decision says the offender indicated his crime was committed as a result of being “emotionally needy” and an “immature adult” who failed to see that sexually abusing a child was inappropriate. He said at the time of the assaults he viewed the relationship as consensual and acceptable, but now realizes he stole the victim’s childhood.
R.R.B. said he’s kept a low profile while in prison, though there were reports of him acting pushy and entitled. The parole documents also mention a recent altercation with a fellow inmate that left R.R.B. with black eyes and stitches on his nose.
He has strong support from his wife, as well as other family and friends, according the the parole decision.
Still, the board said it was concerned about the gravity of the offence, the continued suffering of the victim, some evasiveness during R.R.B.’s interview, and his tendency to make light of what happened by using terms such as “unfortunate circumstances” and “terrible situation” when referring to the molestation.
“The Board concludes you minimize the offence and still have a self centred and selfish approach to life,” reads the decision.
Though R.R.B. was identified many times in past media coverage, an appeal decision last May deemed that because his victim was a family friend, it was best not to use anyone’s full name.
