A Calgary repeat sex offender will be released from prison in less than a year, despite concerns raised by the Parole Board of Canada.
In a recent written review of John Dionne, the board said his “risk of violence and sexual violence remains in the high range.”
Dionne, 51, has been in and out of jail for decades, with convictions dating back to 1985.
He did an exclusive interview with Global News in 2010, following a public warning from police that said he was a high risk to reoffend.
Just a short time after that, he took a 10-year-old girl from a Calgary mall, posing as a police officer who was investigating a shoplifting. He then drove the girl to Airdrie and let her go in exchange for money.
In 2011, he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and impersonating a peace officer. That’s when Dionne was declared a dangerous offender, and a judge could have given him an indeterminate sentence. Instead, he was sentenced to seven years, five months and 11 days in prison.
Since then, according to the parole board, Dionne has been anything but a model prisoner.
“The board notes that your institutional behaviour has been somewhat problematic,” the review said.
Dionne has had four incidents, including assault of another inmate, and he’s failed a drug test.
Forensic psychologist Dr. Patrick Baillie told Global News, given the latest review, it’s clear an indeterminate sentence would have been appropriate.
Instead, Dionne would have to offend again before that is a possibility.
“There is a high likelihood of this individual committing another offence that falls into the pattern of behavior he’s shown, but we don’t have adequate controls to keep him in custody indefinitely,” Baillie said.
The board said Dionne’s risk to reoffend is high. Once released in a few months, he will be under a long-term supervision order for 10 years.