Plint parole rejected

Page 7

Release from prison comes with conditions, but when convicted pedophile Arthur Henry Plint came before the National Parole Board, he had conditions of his own.

"I don't want to be released for another 45 days," Plint told the two-person panel. "I want to spend Christmas and my birthday here before I have to leave."

Plint was convicted on 36 counts of indecent assault and three counts of assault causing bodily harm for acts committed during his employment as a dormitory supervisor at the Alberni Indian Residential School (AIRS). Having served more than two-thirds of his 12-year, 11-month, 22-day sentence, he is eligible for parole.

He first applied for day parole on his eligibility date this past summer, but postponed, then cancelled, the hearing. His parole hearing on Nov. 18 at Mountain Institute in Agassiz, B.C. was the first time Plint had come before members of the National Parole Board.

The panel interviewed Plint for more than an hour to determine whether the person Justice Hogarth called "a sexual terrorist of the worst kind" still posed any danger to the public.

Plint spoke in mumbled tones as he answered most questions with, "that's a lie" or "I don't remember."

Dressed in blue jeans and a heavy, prison-green hooded jacket, the 81-year-old initially denied accusations that he had done anything wrong, and said he didn't know why he was in prison.

"I didn't touch them. It's crazy," mumbled Plint, who slowly started to reveal more information when pushed by interviewers.

"Some of the stories are true and some are not," he said.

Plint claimed that many boys would come to his room to masturbate him.

"They forced me and I let them do it," said Plint. "And then some of them said I beat them up, and that's a pack of lies. If I was mean to them then how come I always got the most Christmas cards every year."

But as soon as parole board members Kathy Lewis and former Victoria police chief Bill Snowden started asking more questions, Plint's denial slowly began to unravel.

After some pointed questioning, Plint admitted having sexual relations with four or five boys at the school. After more questioning, the number rose to 12. But when Lewis asked if he was sorry for what he'd done, he said, "Yes. I should have never let them masturbate me."

Since being in prison, Plint has refused to participate in any rehabilitation programs for sexual offenders. An initial psychiatric evaluation reported that Plint was "self-centered, lacking empathy or any interest in change."

Throughout the hearing, Plint showed he was more concerned about spending his Jan. 5 birthday with fellow inmates, than he was about the fates of his victims, as he repeatedly stated he didn't consider the boys he molested as victims.

Case-worker Jim Anderson said even though Plint "projects blame back on to his victims" his failing mental and physical health contributes to his being considered at "low risk to re-offend," and as such, should be released on day parole to a minimum security half-way house located beside Matsqui Prison for elderly and infirm convicts.

After 90 minutes of interviewing Plint, and five minutes to consider their judgment, Lewis and Snowden announced their denial of Plint's parole application, saying he remains a risk to the public.

"The only thing that has changed is that you have become older," said Lewis. "Considering you have not taken part in any rehabilitation programs, and you refuse to come to terms with the things you have done, it is our recommendation that you remain here for as long as we can continue to take care of you here."

So convicted pedophile Arthur Henry Plint gets his wish, remaining at Mountain Institute for at least six more months, before he can re-apply for full parole.