Paul Bernardo will stay behind bars.
That was the verdict of a Parole Board hearing for the convicted killer Tuesday afternoon, after six victim impact statements were read.
Bernardo, who is designated as a dangerous offender, is serving an indeterminate life sentence for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines.
Last week, the Canadian Parole Board determined that the families of both girls could give in-person statements on Tuesday, which the mother of Mahaffy did. French’s mother gave her statement remotely. The 60-year-old Bernardo told the board he was seeking day parole at a halfway house, or escorted absences from prison so that he can attend a community program for sex offenders. Both of those requests were denied.
Bernardo was transferred to the medium-security La Macaza Institution from a maximum-security Ontario prison last year.
Written by Matt Latour