Victim of a “major attack” | Robert Pickton had probably been transferred to Quebec for his safety

(Victoria) When serial killer Robert Pickton was transferred from Kent Institution in British Columbia to a maximum security prison in Quebec about six years ago, correctional authorities offered no explanation nor public confirmation at the time, citing confidentiality.

But Darryl Plecas, a former prison judge in Kent who became speaker of the British Columbia Assembly, thinks he knows why: Pickton’s safety was likely at risk in Kent.

Mr. Pickton is currently hospitalized in Quebec with what police described as life-threatening injuries.

The Correctional Service of Canada announced that Robert Pickton, who was detained at the Port-Cartier establishment, in the Côte-Nord region, was the victim of a “major assault” which did not involve any guards, Sunday.

Mr Plecas, a criminologist who served as a prison judge in Kent from 2004 to 2013, described Mr Pickton’s transfer as a “lateral move”.

“Why would anyone be moved out of British Columbia? I suppose he was transferred for security reasons,” said Mr. Plecas.

He said Wednesday that notorious inmates like Pickton — who was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2007 after being accused of killing 26 women — are usually held in protective custody and separated for their own protection and not to protect others.

This was especially likely for Pickton, said Mr. Plecas, who knew the killer from his time in Kent.

He said he could not say whether he had dealt with Mr Pickton as a prison judge, but that his physical condition meant his personal safety would have been at risk.

Mr. Plecas described Robert Pickton as “small, frail […] Five Feet and Dust” and unlikely to pose a threat in a prison environment.

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Darryl Plecas said protective custody is designed to keep inmates like Pickton away from threats posed by the general prison population.

But there are still risks for some detainees who “would be considered undesirable even in a pretrial detention unit,” he noted.

Federal Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Tuesday that the correctional service will review the circumstances of the attack on Robert Pickton.

Mr. LeBlanc added that he understood that the Quebec police “also took up this matter.”

He said “inmate interactions” are one of the most difficult things to deal with in maximum security prisons, and that the investigation into this attack would look at these “types of circumstances.”

“Certain corridors house certain inmates who should not come into contact with others,” said Mr. LeBlanc.

Mr. Plecas noted that his duties as a federal prison judge involved the administration of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

He said he can hear cases of inmates accused of smuggling weapons or drugs and trying to escape. Federal prison judges do not handle serious cases of assault, attempted murder and murder, Mr. Plecas said.