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WARNING: This story contains disturbing details. Reader discretion is advised.
A man who committed heinous sexual crimes four decades ago has had his day parole reinstated. Kelly James Toop, aged 64, was initially granted day parole in June but had his release privileges revoked in October following allegations of inappropriate behavior.
During his time at a halfway house, Toop was accused by staff of stalking and photographing a woman, as well as making sexual remarks in a class he attended. A subsequent examination of his phone revealed multiple pornographic websites, which breached the terms of his release.
Toop is currently serving a life sentence for the first-degree murder of Suzanne Seto, a 29-year-old real estate agent, who he violently assaulted in 1980. After breaking into her hotel room in Duncan, he assaulted her for hours before taking her to a secluded area where he killed her with a cement block.
He is concurrently serving a life sentence for a brutal sexual assault and attempted murder of another woman in Williams Lake. After she gave him a ride, Toop assaulted her, striking her with a tire iron before leaving her for dead; she survived and later helped link him to Seto’s murder.
Upon being granted day parole, officials noted significant behavioral improvements in Toop, suggesting a reduced risk of reoffending. He had successfully completed several rehabilitation programs focused on substance abuse and sexual offending, which contributed to his risk assessment of “moderate.”
However, the conditions for his release were tested on October 4, when his case management team confronted him regarding the allegations of stalking and inappropriate comments. Following that, the discovery of pornographic websites on his phone led to his return to prison.
Despite the serious nature of these violations, a recent parole board decision dated December 30 appears to have accepted Toop’s explanations. The board noted that the photograph he took was a video screen capture and that Toop’s bad eyesight could explain the alleged stalking behavior, while attributing weight to his denial of making lewd comments toward female classmates.
Toop claimed that the pornographic sites on his phone may have resulted from pop-up ads, which he insisted he did not intentionally access. The parole board acknowledged his cooperation, noting that he willingly provided access to his phone without attempting to delete evidence when questioned.
Despite a recommendation from the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) for Toop’s release to remain revoked, citing the need for further clinical development in managing his risk, the parole board decided to allow Toop’s return to a halfway house. The CSC emphasized that caution is essential given his history, including diagnoses of antisocial personality and sexual disorders, as well as the violent nature of his crimes.
Opposition from the families of his victims and the halfway house, which stated it would deny his residency, was also noted in the decisions surrounding his release. Toop expressed a desire to focus on building his relationship with his partner and finding employment, planning to revert to a flip phone to reduce potential ambiguities in phone usage.
The parole board has placed strict conditions on Toop’s release, which include not contacting his victims, abstaining from drugs and alcohol, avoiding pornography, and reporting any new relationships to his parole supervisor. The board expressed confidence that sufficient monitoring would be in place to detect any signs of behavioral deterioration promptly.
Source
globalnews.ca