A former Calgary courts security guard and notorious cyber bully has been denied the opportunity for day parole.
Daniel Thomas Mackie pleaded guilty to 39 of the original 77 charges he faced, including child luring, extortion, invitation to sexual touching and several child porn offenses, following an investigation that came to a head in March 2012.
Court heard he contacted at least 21 male and female victims on the internet, between the ages of 11 and 16.
Investigators said he would befriend the children, gain access to their social media profiles, then extort them into sending revealing and provocative pictures and video.
“On more than one occasion, you used the social media and email accounts of your victims to contact their friends while pretending to be the victims,” the Parole Board of Canada said in a recent decision. “When you made contact with the victims’ friends, you again requested naked and underwear photographs.”
That behaviour escalated even further, according to the board.
In May 2013, he was sentenced to 11 years in jail, but with credit for time already served, he had about nine years and nine months remaining.
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The judge described the crimes as “deliberate, brazen, persistent and aggressive with a marked escalation over time.”
About a year later, the Alberta Court of Appeal tossed out an attempt to have that sentence reduced.
In a hearing held earlier this month, the board heard Mackie’s request for day parole.
“You point to your good behaviour, personal improvements, employment and participation in interventions and escorted temporary absenses during your sentence,” the board said. “You suggest your release will contribute to your reintegration and you suggest a number of special conditions which you report will assist in your reintegration.”
Corrections officers were supportive of day parole, but had some reservations.
“Reports also suggest your release is premature for a number of reasons including concerns about the degree of structure and supervision at the facility you would like to live at,” the board continued. “The facility is not staffed 24 hours per day.”
The board echoed those sentiments in its decision to quash the day parole application.
“You are assessed a high risk to reoffend,” the board concluded. “Your release plan appears to rely to a large extent on external professional supports, your own level of honesty, and it does not sufficiently specify plans to address all of your risk factors. Further, your release plan is to a facility that, in the board’s view, lacks sufficient structure and supervision to manage your risk for breaching conditions, accessing the internet and reoffending.”
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