Sexual predator Lance Blanchard denied parole in decision that finds 'no gains' in addressing risk

Violent sexual offender Lance Blanchard, whose history of offences dates back 50 years, continues to refuse accountability for his crimes and isn't addressing the high risk he poses, the Parole Board of Canada says.

Blanchard, now 67, is serving an indeterminate prison sentence after being designated a dangerous offender in 2018, following a brutal attack on a vulnerable Indigenous woman he found sleeping in the stairwell of his Edmonton apartment building in 2014.

In the first review of Blanchard's case at the end of his seven-year parole ineligibility period, in a decision dated March 20, a two-member panel denied day parole and full parole.

"You have impacted people's lives, due to the harm you have inflicted, and this impact has not been lost on the board," the decision, addressed to Blanchard, says.

"You are serving your third federal sentence, which suggests that previous federal sentences and interventions have done little to reduce your criminal behaviour."

Blanchard was first sent to prison in 1975 after a rape conviction. Just a few months after he was released at the end of 1977, in March 1978 he beat and sexually assaulted a 10-year-old boy. Blanchard spent most of the following four decades in custody, as time was repeatedly added because of offences he committed behind bars.

He was released from his second stint in federal prison in 2013, and within a year, he committed the violent sexual assault at knifepoint that led to his current prison term.

"The victims of your offences have been diverse including correctional officers, random underage female and male children, vulnerable persons, and persons known and unknown to you," the parole board wrote.

"Throughout your sentence you have been demanding, argumentative, manipulative, and at times disrespectful. ... You are noted to spend most of your time focused on your legal battles as well as other perceived issues with [Correctional Services of Canada.]"

Blanchard filed an appeal of his conviction and the sentence that labelled him a dangerous offender, but the Court of Appeal of Alberta dismissed it last year.

'No gains' in any risk factors

The case that led to Blanchard's current sentence was the subject of an independent investigation that found a "complete breakdown of legal protections" with the victim jailed during the preliminary inquiry, forced to testify in court in shackles and transported in the same prisoner van as Blanchard. 

CBC News identified her by the pseudonym "Angela Cardinal" due to a publication ban on her identity. The Cree woman from Maskwacis, Alta., was 28 when Blanchard attacked her, and she has since died in an unrelated, accidental shooting.

The parole board says Blanchard has refused to take part in a recommended high-intensity sex offender program in prison, and wouldn't co-operate with a psychologist trying to interview him for an updated risk assessment.

That expert said Blanchard's risk wouldn't be manageable in any form of release, with his history of "violent and predatory" sexual offending that's persisted for many years.

According to the parole board's decision, Blanchard didn't provide any plans related to possible parole, and has said he isn't interested in release.

His reintegration potential is low, and he still fails to recognize "any victim empathy," the decision says.

"You remain assessed as a high-risk/high-needs offender who has made no gains to any of your risk factors," the panel concludes.