Suspects in chained-teen case got early parole
Parole board did not think men were at risk of violence
There are new insights into two Nova Scotia men facing charges of forcible confinement and sexual assault in documents released Tuesday by the Parole Board of Canada.
David James Leblanc, 47, and Wayne Alan Cunningham, 31, were charged after a 16-year-old boy escaped from a house on Faulkner Rd in Upper Chelsea, Lunenburg County.
Leblanc and Cunningham were convicted of a series of offences in November 2006. The convictions include charges of theft, break and enter, fraud and forgery.
In assessing Leblanc's case, the parole board recommended he be released as soon as he was eligible.
"The board is satisfied that there are no reasonable grounds to believe that, if released, you are likely to commit an offence involving violence," it wrote.
The board went on to note of Leblanc, "You explain your behaviour and that of your partner and co-accused as those of desperate people."
"The question becomes one of how far you are prepared to go to meet personal needs."
About Cunningham, the board noted: "Issues around sexual identity in your teens is believed to have ill-effects on your self esteem."
The report continued, "This result is believed to have led to choices in being a follower of criminally oriented peers and negatively influenced family relations."
"There are no indications that you have acted aggressively or violently during your offences...furthermore, there are no suggestions you displayed outward anger or aggression while growing up, at home, in the school system or in the community."
At the time the board noted Cunningham's case was "somewhat unique in that the crimes were not committed to feed an intoxicant problem but mainly as a means to survive when you choose to be around criminally-oriented persons rather than your pro-social family."
Leblanc was arrested earlier this week in Ontario on the sexual assault and forcible confinement charges. He is awaiting transport back to Nova Scotia. Cunningham has not been found yet.
Leblanc is also facing a preliminary inquiry next month on charges of sexual assault and making child pornography. Those charges stem from alleged incidents in 2010 involving a two-year-old and five-year-old boy.