WARNING: This story contains disturbing details. Reader discretion is advised.
A man who violently sexually assaulted two women, killing one and leaving the other for dead four decades ago, has been sentenced to death. semi-liberty reinstated.
Kelly James Toop, 64, was granted day parole in June, but his release privileges were suspended in October after a halfway house staffer accused him of following and photographing a woman and making sexual comments to women in a class he was taking.
His case managers later discovered pornographic websites open on his phone, a violation of his conditions of release.
Toop is serving a life sentence for the first-degree murder of Suzanne Seto, a 29-year-old real estate employee, in 1980. Toop broke into her hotel room in Duncan, assaulted her sexually for hours, then took her to a wooded area where he dropped a cement block on her head.
He is also serving a concurrent life sentence for sexual assault and attempted murder of another Williams Lake woman who took him in her vehicle. Toop beat her, sexually assaulted her for hours, then hit her in the head with a tire iron and left her for dead. She survived and during the ensuing investigation, the police also linked Toop to Seto’s murder.
He was granted day parole in June, after authorities reported “measurable and observable behavioral changes” that could reduce his risk, and he was released to a halfway house.
Parole Board documents indicate he had completed several correctional programs, including for sex offenders and substance abuse, and had “moderate” ability to manage his risk factors.
According to the parole board’s decision, Toop’s release was suspended after his case management team confronted him on Oct. 4 with allegations that he followed and photographed a woman and made inappropriate sexual comments. to his classmates.
When they examined his phone, they discovered that approximately 20 pornographic websites had been viewed, several of which were still open in his browser tabs.
Toop was returned to prison, but in a decision dated Dec. 30, the parole board appeared to accept his explanation for the incidents.
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Regarding the woman he allegedly photographed, the commission concluded that “the photograph appears to be a screenshot of a video” that he recorded near the halfway house, and that he later deleted because he couldn’t remember why he took it.
“You said you did not follow or photograph a woman who was walking near the (halfway house). You added that you take photos and because you have poor eyesight, including glaucoma, you tend to turn your camera to different angles and positions as a corrective measure,” it says.
“The Commission finds credible your assertion that you did not follow or photograph the woman.”
The parole board also said it “attributes weight” to his denial that he made inappropriate sexual comments to classmates. Toop claimed he responded to women’s flirtations by saying he would have been interested if he was 30 years younger.
The commission also said it “attributes weight” to his claim that he did not understand how the pornographic websites appeared on his phone and his denial that he deliberately accessed them.
Toop claimed they could have been the result of clicking on pop-up ads.
The commission noted that he voluntarily surrendered his phone and made no effort to remove the tabs when his case managers asked him for the device.
The Parole Board’s decision to reinstate Toop’s day parole came despite a recommendation from the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) that his parole be revoked.
CSC argued that “a return to the institution is necessary so that (Toop) can further develop its clinical tools, undertake introspective work on the circumstances that led to the suspension of your release and create a release plan which will better manage the risk of you being released. represent in the community.
This also occurred despite the commission itself acknowledging that its “diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder and sexual disorders (rape, sadism)” as well as “the seriousness and brutality of your offenses and your admission to the commission that you would have continued to commit offenses had you not been caught” weighed in favor of “extreme caution” in his case.
The families of Toop’s victims also opposed his release, and his halfway house said it would reject his application if he were released.
Toop himself told the Parole Board that if released he wanted to focus on his relationship with his partner, return to his correctional program and try to find work.
He also said that if released, he would look for a flip phone to “avoid any ambiguity” about its use.
The parole board ultimately concluded that there were sufficient controls in place if he were to be released to a halfway house to “ensure that any deterioration” in his behavior was detected promptly, and his release conditions were amended to include the requirement that it not be purged. all the data on his phone.
Other conditions of Toop’s release include no contact with the victims, no drinking or drug use, access to pornography and reporting any relationships to his parole supervisor.
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