A notorious British Columbia child predator who was released and almost immediately re-arrested this week still poses a “high risk for future sexual offending,” parole board documents reveal.
Randall Hopley was granted statutory release from the Mission Institution on Thursday morning, and was supposed to live at a Vancouver halfway house.
But police say he refused the directions of his parole officer and left the facility — leading to his arrest hours later.
Global News obtained the Parole Board of Canada documents associated with his release, which show officials continued to hold serious concerns about his risk to public safety.
“Risk issues in your case include a deviant sexual attraction to young children, poor impulse control, poor emotions management, and attitudes that support the use of crime for gain. You lack insight into your criminal behaviour and are resistant to treatment efforts,” the documents state.
“Psychological and psychiatric assessments focused on estimating your risk for recidivism have consistently found that you pose a high risk for future sexual offending, a moderate risk for general violence and a moderate to high risk for general re-offending.”
The documents go on to specify he continue to live in a halfway house, given his “high risk to re-offend in a sexual manner against a child.”
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
Corrections Canada told Global News that Hopley’s statutory release was mandated by law. Under the law, offenders who aren’t serving an indeterminate or life sentence must be released when they’ve completed two-thirds of their sentence. The final third is served in the community under the supervision of a parole officer.
Hopley’s latest sentence, an 18-month term, was handed down after he went unlawfully at large.
He had been serving a long-term supervision order when he cut off an ankle monitor and disappeared from his Downtown Eastside halfway house in November 2023, sparking a nationwide manhunt. It was only called off when he turned himself in to police because he was cold.
He has a long criminal history dating back to 1985, including sexual assault, assault and property crime.
He is best known for kidnapping a three-year-old boy in Sparwood, B.C., in 2011, triggering an Amber Alert and Canada-wide search.
Hopley returned the boy unharmed four days later and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to six years, serving his full term until October 2018, at which point he was released under the 10-year long-term supervision order.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.