After two attempts, the father of the little girl from Granby was released from prison on Wednesday.
“In the view of the Commission, your desire to improve yourself seems sincere and is not aimed solely at release,” underlines the Parole Board of Canada, in a 12-page decision rendered Wednesday.
The father, whose identity is protected by the court, applied to the Commission last week to obtain day parole. He made a first request last spring, but it was refused.
The man pleaded guilty to a charge of false imprisonment in December 2021 and thus avoided a trial. He still admitted to wrapping his 7-year-old daughter in adhesive tape. He is serving a prison sentence of three years and six months.
The child’s stepmother, who added sticky tape around the girl’s face, was found guilty by a jury of unpremeditated murder and false imprisonment. She is serving a life sentence and will be eligible for parole after 13 years. She appealed her case.
The father, now 34 years old, will have to live in a halfway house and will be prohibited from communicating with members of the victim’s family and with his own family.
He will have to declare “all relationships (sexual and non-sexual) and friendships with women, as well as any change in the state of [ses] relations/friendships”, demands the Commission. He will not have the right to be alone in the presence of a child under 16 years old.
Remorse
The Commission notes that since the beginning of his stay behind bars, the man has not received any disciplinary report. He completed his high school diploma last February and held various jobs, including one outside the walls of the penitentiary.
Importantly, during his therapy, the man expressed remorse, something he had never done before. During the legal process, a judge noted that the accused did not express regret, nor the slightest apology to the family.
“You assume a greater share of responsibility in the circumstances which led to the tragic event,” underlined the commissioners on Wednesday. “If, in the past, you tended to try to dilute the extent and nature of your involvement in the tragedy, today you are able to recognize and name some of your faults, including the fact that you failed in your duty to protect the victim. »
“You have expressed remorse which the Commission considers sincere,” they add.
At her hearing before the Commission on November 30, the girl’s paternal grandmother opposed the father’s release. She affirmed that her son had not really become aware and that he did not take responsibility for the events.
The grandmother also argued that members of her family would fear for their safety in the event of release.
A letter signed by the girl’s mother was also read to the commissioners. The mother also opposed the request for release and said she did not believe in the man’s rehabilitation.