Sofyan Boalag has parole hearing next week

National Parole Board won’t make a decision lightly in serial rapist’s case

Graphic content warning:

This story contains details of sexual assault that some readers may find disturbing.

After having taken an appeal of his jail sentence and dangerous-offender status as far as it could go through the court system, serial rapist Sofyan Boalag will have a parole hearing next week.

Boalag, who is serving an indeterminate sentence as a declared dangerous offender, is scheduled for a hearing before the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) on Tuesday. This doesn’t necessarily mean he will be released; it’s a step required by law and the board doesn’t make the decision lightly.

“The protection of society is the primary consideration in all PBC decisions. Parole is only granted if the board is satisfied that the offender will not present an undue risk to society,” a PBC spokesman told Saltwire Network.

Boalag sexually assaulted two women and a child in separate attacks as they walked home from the downtown St. John’s area in 2012. Armed with a stick in one attack and a knife in the others, Boalag also robbed two of the females and choked the other until she was unconscious.

Boalag was convicted and deemed by a provincial court judge in 2017 to be a dangerous offender — a status reserved in Canada for sexual predators and otherwise violent criminals, when the Crown is able to prove a high risk of the offender committing another serious offence in the future. Boalag’s dangerous-offender designation comes with an indefinite jail sentence.

Boalag appealed the designation and sentence to the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal, which dismissed the appeal a year ago.

He then took his case to the Supreme Court of Canada, which dismissed his application earlier this year, refusing to hear his appeal.

All offenders in custody, including those serving indeterminate sentences, are eligible to be considered for parole at some point in their sentence. A dangerous offender serving an indeterminate sentence is eligible for parole seven years from the date they were taken into custody; that means Boalag has been eligible since December 2019.

His parole review must happen by law. If he — or any dangerous offender — is denied parole, the PBC is obligated to conduct another review every two years.

Boalag will have an opportunity to make submissions to board members on why he should be granted parole, but he clearly won’t be the board’s only source of information. Victims, parole officers, police, the courts, mental-health professionals, social workers and others also provide information to the board for parole hearings, and the board uses it to assess an offender’s risk to reoffend.

“Board members conduct a thorough risk assessment in all cases, using the best riskassessment research and tools available,” the PBC spokesman said.

Boalag’s social and criminal history, relevant background factors, understanding of his crimes, behaviour in prison, community supports and progress made by participating in programming while incarcerated are among the things the board will consider.

Board members will also consider statements from the survivors of Boalag’s crimes. Two of the females have spoken with Saltwire Network in the past, describing the lasting trauma Boalag inflicted on them, and the fortitude they’ve needed to endure it and move on with success in their lives.

Each time Boalag has appealed his sentence, wounds have been reopened, one woman said, stressing her need for closure.

“He took my voice away from me,” she said last year. “I want it back.”