Vancouver police are searching for high-risk sex offender Randall Hopley after the 58-year-old failed to return to his halfway house Saturday, two days before a scheduled court appearance.
Hopley, who is now wanted Canada-wide, was last seen around 3 p.m. Saturday, according to a news release.
He is described as being five feet nine inches tall and 176 pounds with brown hair and hazel-coloured eyes. He was last seen wearing a black coat, black pants and black hat.
Officials say Hopley has a history of assault and sexual assault, and committed three offences of a sexual nature against children in the past.
B.C. court records show Hopley was charged with two counts of breaching his long-term supervision order in January, and was set to appear in provincial court in Vancouver on Monday.
Who is Randall Hopley?
Featured VideoThe man suspected in the 2011 disappearance of a three-year-old B.C. boy had a previous criminal history that includes abduction charges, the CBC’s Ben Hadaway reports.
Officers are asking anyone who has seen Hopley, or has information on his whereabouts, to call 911 immediately.
Hopley served a total of six years in prison for abducting a three-year-old in the middle of the night from his home in Sparwood, B.C., in 2011. He returned the boy to his home four days later after holding him in an abandoned cabin.
The 58-year-old was released on parole under a 10-year supervision order in November 2018, at which time Vancouver police issued a public warning that he still posed a risk of significant harm to young boys.
The most recent charges against Hopley stem from an incident last November, according to B.C. court records.
The National Parole Board said in January that the man violated his conditions after allegedly being caught using a computer at a public library, less than a metre away from a group of children.
At the time, the parole board recommended charges against Hopley and said a long-term supervision order was needed because he is at high risk to reoffend.
Calls for parole, bail reform
In a news conference on Sunday, B.C. Premier David Eby said he was “deeply disturbed” to learn that Hopley was at large, and criticized the parole board for not placing sufficient safeguards on the man.
“It’s hard to underline the importance of ensuring the safety of our kids,” he said in response to a question from CBC News, adding that he hoped that Canada’s Senate would quickly pass a federal bail reform bill that would restrict violent offenders’ movements.
“It is unacceptable that they [the Senate] are sitting on this bill, because it is compromising the safety of British Columbians.”
Kash Heed, a former West Vancouver police chief and B.C. solicitor general, says while many people deserve a chance at rehabilitation, all levels of government need to increase safeguards for high-risk offenders like Hopley.
He says people who are accused of violating long-term supervision agreements should have ankle monitors and GPS trackers in their phones.
Former B.C. Solicitor General Kash Heed, pictured here in 2009, says offenders like Hopley need ankle monitors and stricter parole conditions, if they are going to be released at all. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
According to Heed, parole conditions should mandate treatment and rehabilitation programming for sexual offenders who declined it in custody, like Hopley did.
“Maybe these are the individuals, given the crimes they’ve committed, who need to be thrown in jail and the key thrown away in order for them to certainly protect not only themselves, but more importantly, that we protect society,” he said.
Balancing reintegration and safety
Mason Shell, a registered clinical therapist and executive director for the B.C. Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse, says the news of the search may hit other survivors of abuse hard.
“A situation like this certainly has the potential to reignite or exacerbate the effects of trauma in other childhood abuse survivors,” he wrote in a message to CBC News.
Vancouver-based criminal defence lawyer Guillaume Garih says long-term supervision orders are the most stringent conditions release conditions possible, and judges grant them with advice from medical experts.
“[Hopley] was found to be someone who should be given a chance to reintegrate, under very strict supervision, into society,” said the lawyer, who practices at Lower Mainland Law. “Unfortunately it seems he wasted that chance.”
Garih says Hopley risks significant jail time violating the order, but his disappearance doesn’t necessarily mean giving him or others the opportunity to rehabilitate was the wrong decision.
“I think everybody is disappointed when something like this happens, but does it necessarily mean that the system needs to be changed? I don’t think so,” said Garih. “I think that we should try as Canadians to reintegrate individuals — even individuals who have done terrible things.”
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
MONTREAL – Quebec’s ombudsperson is warning that public services are becoming “dehumanized” in the province amid a rise in demand for them.
Marc-André Dowd released his annual report today, which highlights several examples of people receiving inadequate care across the health network in the 12 months leading to March 31.
One dying man who lived alone was denied help cleaning his cat’s litter box by his local health clinic, a service Dowd says should have been given for “humanitarian reasons.”
Dowd also describes staff at a long-term care home feeding residents “mechanically” and talking among each other — despite health ministry guidelines directing staff to maintain eye contact with residents.
The ombudsperson says his office received a record number of problems to investigate across the province’s public services — 24,867 compared with 22,053 last year.
He says his office investigated 13,358 cases between April 2023 and March of this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Canada next week after a planned trip in July was cancelled amid political turmoil in France.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in a statement today that Macron will be in Canada Wednesday and Thursday after the leaders attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
Trudeau will welcome Macron in Ottawa on Wednesday, where they are expected to discuss collaboration on geopolitical issues including their ongoing support for Ukraine.
They are also expected to discuss ways to strengthen the response to emerging threats, such as disinformation.
In Montreal, Trudeau intends to show off the city’s artificial intelligence sector, while both countries reaffirm their commitment to work with counterparts on responsible use of AI.
The leaders will also discuss promoting the French language ahead of the Francophonie summit being held in France next month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Health Canada has authorized Novavax’s updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against currently circulating variants of the virus.
The protein-based vaccine, called Nuvaxovid, has been reformulated to target the JN.1 subvariant of Omicron.
It will replace the previous version of the vaccine, which targeted the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron.
Health Canada recently asked provinces and territories to get rid of their older COVID-19 vaccines to ensure the most current vaccine will be used during this fall’s respiratory virus season.
Earlier this week, Health Canada approved Moderna’s updated mRNA COVID vaccine.
It is still reviewing Pfizer’s updated mRNA vaccine, with a decision expected soon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version erroneously described the Novavax vaccine as an mRNA shot.
