A court gave Larry Takahashi three life sentences for a series of sexual assaults in western Canada in the late 1970s and early 1980s and he now he has been released from prison on day parole. His last victim, the person who helped convict him, is mortified.
Victim’s life changed
Erica Hammermeister says her life changed after she was raped by a masked man in a utility room of her downtown apartment in the western city of Edmonton in March 1982. She was pregnant with twins at the time and lost them both.
She went from being a self-described social butterfly to being “really reclusive” and CBC reports she has refused to have any pictures taken of herself since the attack. She does not own a house, a car or credit cards. “There is no way that anybody can find me,” she told reporter Mack Lamoureux.
Plea bargain, reduced charges
Takahashi was originally charged with 70 sexual assaults against 23 victims. But he pleaded guilty to fewer charges as part of a plea bargain. At the time of his arrest police said it was likely Takahashi had assaulted more than 100 women.
On day parole, Takahashi will be subject to eleven conditions including avoiding colleges and universities, abstaining from drugs and alcohol and he must tell his parole supervisor about any relationships or friendships he has with females. He must return to a half-way house at night.
While the parole board ruled Takahashi no longer poses an “undue risk” while he is under parole conditions, Hammermeister thinks that once those conditions expire he will re-offend and “he’s not going to leave anyone behind.”
See how the Canadian justice system grants convicts parole.
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