‘Balaclava rapist’ who attacked 23 women in Edmonton gets full parole

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A serial sex offender known as the “Balaclava Rapist” for attacking 23 women in Edmonton over 40 years ago has been granted parole but will continue to serve three concurrent life sentences.

The Canadian Parole Board says 71-year-old Larry Takahashi has demonstrated stability in his home over a long period of time and is “highly motivated to safely reintegrate into society.”

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He earned his nickname because he wore a ski mask during a series of attacks on women in Edmonton over several years before he was arrested in 1983 and pleaded guilty to 14 charges.

The panel’s decision, which was made on June 25 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and only released to the media on Monday, states that Takahashi’s psychological evaluation found that his risk of reoffending sexually or violently was “relatively low or well below average.”

It states that he has completed all recommended prison and community programs, meets regularly with a psychologist, and remains open to counseling if recommended.

His full parole plan calls for him to live in a house he rents in a location not specified in the decision and to be able to earn a living.

It states that Takahashi’s case management team believes he no longer needs the structure of a community living facility after he was granted parole in 2016.

“(You) have appropriate accommodation, have insight into your offending cycle and risk factors, have safely made a slow and gradual transition to greater independence and remain subject to a supervision plan and have access to community supports to maintain your progress and manageability,” said the decision, signed by two members of the parole board.

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The decision states that Takahashi’s evaluator recommended that the special conditions imposed on him be gradually lifted and that he should seek psychological support to deal with the increasing stress that freedom on parole may bring.

“This is based in part on your history of impression management, your ability to control interactions, and your tendency to use openness, honesty, and disclosure as a means to ‘wrest control’ from your superiors,” the decision states.

Conditions for Takahashi’s release include reporting any relationships with women and observing a curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

He may not consume alcohol or drugs, acquire pornography, or enter any college or university campus or residential area without prior permission.

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