A violent sex offender with a lengthy criminal history that includes a plane hijacking and trying to kill his sibling is being released from prison into the Edmonton area, prompting a warning from police.
The Edmonton Police Service issued the warning on Friday afternoon in the interest of public safety.
Larry Maxwell Stanford, 74, is a convicted sex offender with a criminal history dating back to the 1970s, who has spent most of his life behind bars.
Police said officers have reasonable grounds to believe he will commit another sexual offence against someone while out in the community.
Stanford is completing a prison sentence after being convicted of a violent sexual offence committed in Edmonton in 2017 and will be living in Edmonton.
Given Stanford’s criminal history, which includes sexual offences, violence towards women, an aircraft hijacking and the attempted murder of his sister, police said he has been incarcerated for lengthy periods of his life but is still believed to be a high risk to reoffend.
His criminal record started with an assault causing grievous bodily harm in 1972, court records show.
Stanford made national headlines in 1972 at the age of 21, when he hijacked a Quebecair plane carrying 57 passengers with a shotgun, becoming the first Canadian to be charged under then-new hijacking laws.
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the hijacking conviction and 10 years concurrent for the weapon conviction.
While out on parole in 1982, he attacked his sister. He hit her more than 20 times in the head with a hammer, causing traumatic brain injuries. In 1984 Stanford was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 15 years.
Court documents show he obtained a statutory release in 2001, violated the terms of his release, and was recommitted.
Stanford was released from the Edmonton Institution maximum security prison in 2008, at which time police made a near-identical warning to the public as the one issued on Friday.
Stanford was sent back to prison after attacking and sexually assaulting his neighbour at the west-central Edmonton apartment building they both lived at in 2017.
The sentencing decision called it a “very violent and invasive assault” in which Stanford showed little regard for possible injuries he could have caused. Stanford was added to the sex offender registry and banned from owning weapons for life.
Upon release he will be subject to a court order with conditions and will be managed by the Behavioural Assessment Unit of the Edmonton Police Service.
The specialized unit deals only with high-risk, violent sexual offenders and high-risk violent offenders who are released to the Edmonton area.
At any given time, the BAU’s team is tasked with supervising dozens of high-risk offenders, keeping tabs on them and also trying to help the offenders adjust to life outside of prison.
Stanford has been placed on a series of court-ordered conditions including, but not limited to:
- You shall not attend areas or specific locations or associate with specific individuals that your Supervisor has given you instructions to avoid.
- You shall have no contact, direct or indirect, with the victims of your index offence.
- You shall not associate with anyone known to have a criminal record for sexual offences except for participants in a program or individuals approved by your Supervisor.
- You must live at a residence approved by the Alberta Court of Justice or your Supervisor and you must not change that address until you have received written approval from your Supervisor.
- You shall abide by a curfew by being in your approved residence daily between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless a varied time is approved in writing by your Supervisor.
- You shall not purchase, possess, or consume any alcoholic beverages or cannabis products. You shall not consume or possess any drug listed in the schedules of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, any prescription drugs not prescribed to you, or any other intoxicating substances. You shall report all prescribed and over-the-counter medications to your Supervisor and shall only use them in the manner prescribed by the physician or, in the case of over-the-counter medication, as directed on the packaging.
Anyone with any information about Stanford’s behaviour/conduct while in the community can contact the EPS at 780-423-4567.
The Edmonton Police Service said it is issuing the information and warning after careful deliberation of all related issues, including privacy concerns, in the belief it’s in the public interest to inform the community.
Police stressed that sharing his release is meant just to allow people to be aware and take suitable precautionary measures. Releasing this information is not intended to encourage people to engage in any form of vigilante action, EPS said.