Dangerous offender from Halifax once again denied day parole

A dangerous offender from Halifax who is considered a suspect in several unsolved homicides related to missing women has once again been denied day parole due to the ongoing risk he poses to society. 

Andrew Paul Johnson has been serving a prison sentence in British Columbia. 

The Parole Board of Canada decision on April 25 found he's still a high risk to reoffend sexually and hasn't been "proactive" in working with his case management team to address "risk factors."

It found the happiness Johnson said he would garner from being allowed out on day parole wasn't enough to warrant his release. 

The report said even years after Johnson's offences, victims statements "describe ongoing sadness and fear, difficulty sleeping, a negative impact of the victim's sense of personal safety and ongoing anxiety."

They are scared to be out alone, the report said.

Long criminal history

Johnson was declared a dangerous offender after being convicted of kidnapping and confinement of a 20-year-old mentally disabled woman who police found locked in his car in a secluded part of Nanaimo, B.C., in 1997. The charges also relate to his attempts to pick up 12-year-old girls while posing as a police officer.

Though he was never convicted, the Parole Board of Canada report said Johnson has a history of sexual violence against minors and a former partner, and masturbating in public. He has been convicted of thefts, forcible confinement and assaults.

The parole board also makes reference to Johnson being a suspect in the homicides, but doesn't go into further detail. 

At the time of his 1997 arrest, he was on probation for an indecent act in the Hammonds Plains area. That day in B.C., Johnson was intoxicated and had a meat cleaver, toy handcuffs, packing tape, lubricant and a mask in his vehicle. 

The parole board said Johnson, who was 60 at the time of the most recent review, became frustrated when he was asked to explain why he had those items and insisted they were not a "rape kit." 

Ongoing fantasies involving children 

The decision said it's "encouraging" that Johnson acknowledged he still has sexually deviant fantasies about young girls but it notes he had to be "pressed" to do so.

It found Johnson needs structure and had not been admitted to any community residential facility. He was previously denied day parole in 2017.

In Canada, people can be designated a dangerous offender if they're determined to be a high risk to commit violent or sexual offences in the future. The designation carries an automatic sentence of imprisonment for an indeterminate period, with no chance of parole for seven years.

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