A convicted Alberta rapist and dangerous offender agrees that he should not receive day or full parole, according to documents obtained by News Talk 770 and Global News.
Cory Bitternose is serving an indefinite sentence for a plethora of charges including break-and-enter, sexual assault causing bodily harm, uttering threats and dangerous driving.
In 2008, he stole a truck and kidnapped two women in Banff after offering to give them a ride.
An horrific ordeal ensued in which Bitternose threatened the women several times and tried to run them over. One of the women was also violently sexually assaulted.
Bitternose was initially sentenced to 20 years behind bars, but the Alberta Court of Appeal declared him a dangerous offender, leading to the indefinite sentence.
The Parole Board of Canada reviewed the case last week and cites that he is making strides through education.
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“Your comments and responses to the board were viewed as insightful and demonstrated a true commitment to positive rehabilitation strategies,” the board said. “You acknowledge that you are still working on things. You are still developing skills to deal with your actions when you are overwhelmed or have too much on your plate.”
“You think you would panic if you are in an environment that is uncontrollable and overtaxing on you,” the board continued. “You could get angry and although you do not feel that you would act out with violence, you recognize you need work in this area of emotions management.”
The panel said Bitternose is still a risk to reoffend and felt parole of any kind should be denied.
“You have a tailored reintegration strategy which has been developed by you and your case management team, which is viable and manageable in the board’s opinion,” the board noted. “And should you continue to progress, your risk may be manageable in the future but at this juncture in your sentence it is not.”
During the hearing, Bitternose said he wasn’t opposed to staying behind bars.
“You told the board that you are not ready for the community,” the board said. “You still need to develop skills to cope in the community so that you do not return to your old ways and thought processes. You know that it will be years before you would even consider yourself a candidate for conditional release.”
“You feel that escorted temporary absences and unescorted temporary absences are the next step in the gradual release process,” the board continued. “And this may be some years down the road.”
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