Escaped murderer had raped 3 women while on parole
A convicted rapist and murderer who walked away from a minimum-security prison in B.C. on the weekend had raped three women while on parole for previous offences and was considered at high risk of reoffending, according to parole board documents.
On Saturday 60-year-old Blane MacDougal walked away from the Ferndale Institution in Mission where he was serving a life sentence for a number of charges, including murder, indecent assault, sexual assault with a weapon and kidnapping.
MacDougal's escape raised questions about why the convicted rapist and murderer was at a minimum-security institution.
Corrections Canada would only say that he met the requirements to serve time in a minimum-security facility.
MacDougal hid deviancy: parole board
But documents released Tuesday from a parole board hearing in October of last year show MacDougal was denied both full and day parole.
The parole board noted that over the years, MacDougal had been assessed as a low-risk to reoffend because he was able to hide deviant desires, and rape fantasies, from his partners, therapists and parole officers.
During his last parole hearing, MacDougal explained he wasn't ready for temporary absences from prison because he was afraid of all the changes in the world after decades in prison.
But in denying him parole, the board wrote that it was left with the impression that deep down, MacDougal was afraid of what he might do.
The documents also show MacDougal has a long history of crime. He was convicted of a 1968 murder in the U.S. and spent 10 years in a Texas prison before being transferred to Canada.
In 1979, he twice raped women while on day parole. Then two days after being granted full parole in 1989, MacDougal kidnapped and raped another woman.
After his conviction for that crime, he was declared a dangerous offender.
Police continue to search for MacDougal. He's described as Caucasian, six-feet tall, weighing about 160 pounds and balding with brown hair. He also has a tattoo of a dragon on his chest.
With files from the Canadian Press