A convict who became Canada B次元官网网址榮 youngest designated dangerous offender after sexually assaulting a three-month-old baby is seeking escorted leave from prison to attend Indigenous cultural ceremonies in Vancouver.
Tara Desousa, now 43, has applied to Federal Court to overturn a decision by B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Fraser Valley Institution to deny her B次元官网网址渆scorted temporary absencesB次元官网网址� from the federal womenB次元官网网址檚 prison.
Desousa, then named Adam Laboucan, was 15 years old in 1997 when she sexually assaulted an infant she was babysitting in Quesnel, B.C. The baby required surgery to repair the injuries.
Desousa, who underwent gender-affirming operations while serving an indefinite sentence, also admitted to drowning a three-year-old boy when she was 11 years old, which the judge in the sexual assault case said was below the age of criminal responsibility.
B.C. Supreme Court Judge Victor Curtis imposed an indefinite sentence and a dangerous-offender designation in 1999 because there was no foreseeable B次元官网网址渢ime span in which Adam Laboucan may be cured.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚n doing so, I do not intend that Mr. Laboucan be kept in prison for many years with no hope for release,B次元官网网址� the judge wrote of the then-17-year-old.
B次元官网网址淲hat is intended, and what must happen is that Mr. Laboucan be kept only so long as it is necessitated by the risk he poses.B次元官网网址�
The B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the dangerous offender designation in 2002.
DesousaB次元官网网址檚 application filed in Federal Court in Vancouver in October says she first applied for escorted leave to attend ceremonies at the Anderson Lodge B次元官网网址渉ealing centre for womenB次元官网网址� in August 2023.
The lodge is run by the Circle of Eagles Lodge Society, an Indigenous-led organization headed by CEO Merv Thomas.
Thomas said in an interview that he couldnB次元官网网址檛 comment on individual offenders, but a lot of people B次元官网网址渃oming into our facilities are dealing with a lot of historical trauma.B次元官网网址�
He said the society takes a B次元官网网址渉olisticB次元官网网址� approach to helping people heal through ceremonies held at the lodge, and B次元官网网址渢hose that are involved in culture and ceremony have a greater chance at reintegrating positively into the community.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲e leave the final judgments to the creator,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 judge anybody that comes to us.B次元官网网址�
He said there are B次元官网网址渟trictB次元官网网址� conditions and protocols for offenders that come to the societyB次元官网网址檚 facilities, and B次元官网网址渃ommunity safetyB次元官网网址� is paramount.
In his decades working with the organization, Thomas said even he has trouble reading the files of the B次元官网网址渂rothers and sistersB次元官网网址� who seek help from the society, reading about some of the B次元官网网址渉orrific thingsB次元官网网址� theyB次元官网网址檝e done.
B次元官网网址淏ut I also started reading and started to understand where they came from and some of the atrocities and the damage that was done to them,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淚 understand and I see both sides and itB次元官网网址檚 very difficult a lot of times to put our judgments aside. But at the same time, we work with them and we believe that everybody has an opportunity for change.B次元官网网址�
DesousaB次元官网网址檚 Vancouver-based lawyer Caroline North declined to comment on the Federal Court application.
Desousa has had several attempts for parole denied, most recently in June 2024.
The Parole Board of Canada decision said the assault victim and their B次元官网网址渇amily have suffered pain, anxiety and anguish and long-term emotional impacts resulting from your offending.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淓ach time you come up for parole, they are haunted by your offending and the damage you inflicted on their defenceless son/grandson,B次元官网网址� the decision said.
The board decision said Desousa was the victim of B次元官网网址渆xtremeB次元官网网址� abuse as a child, bullied at school, diagnosed with B次元官网网址渟everal disorders,B次元官网网址� and exhibited B次元官网网址渧iolent and sexual behaviourB次元官网网址� around other children.
It said DesousaB次元官网网址檚 case management team believed that escorted temporary absences were B次元官网网址渢he next logical step in reintegration and gradual release.B次元官网网址�
However, the board ruled that Desousa presented B次元官网网址渁n undue risk to society,B次元官网网址� if she was paroled.
A profile in DesousaB次元官网网址檚 name is listed on Canadian Inmates Connect, which connects convicts with potential pen pals.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been incarcerated since I was 15 years old. I was abused extensively as a child and did not know that this was not normal behaviour,B次元官网网址� says the profile, which includes photos. B次元官网网址淚 know now and I am remorseful. I have never been given a chance to have proper interaction with the world growing up.B次元官网网址�
Thomas said inmates approved for escorted absences to attend the lodge have to go through a B次元官网网址渞igorousB次元官网网址� process, but those who participate in ceremonies and access other supports from elders and counsellors see the greatest chance of reform and rehabilitation.
B次元官网网址淲hen people embrace their culture, thatB次元官网网址檚 where we have seen the most change in people,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hey have to do the work themselves because if they donB次元官网网址檛 do the work, then we canB次元官网网址檛 change them.B次元官网网址�
