The Parole Board of Canada has denied day parole to a man serving a nine-year prison sentence for an infamous kidnap and sexual assault of an elderly woman after rear-ending her vehicle into a ditch just outside Prince George nearly four years ago.
According to a decision reached Thursday, Joseph Robert Fowlie, 37, poses a low risk to re-offend, has a positive release plan, has accepted responsibility for his offence and has developed some insight into his behaviour.
"However, the board cannot ignore that you went from a relatively pro-social lifestyle to a situation where you kidnapped, raped, assaulted and threatened to kill your victim for no apparent reason," the board said in the decision.
"The board and the professionals who have worked with you find it difficult to understand how you could commit such a violent offence."
In December 2010, Fowlie was sentenced to nine years behind bars after pleading guilty to kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault for the March 21, 2010 incident.
Fowlie was driving home after drinking 12 to 14 beers while playing poker and watching hockey at a friend's home when, shortly before 3 a.m., he perceived that the woman, who was driving home from work, had cut off his cube van while heading south along Tyner Boulevard.
Fowlie followed her along Highway 16 West speeding up and slowing down as she sped up and slowed down, and then, as she turned onto West Beaverly Road, Fowlie turned as well, hitting her vehicle, twice knocking it into a ditch.
When she saw Fowlie approach her, she tried to close the door on her vehicle but was unable to do so.
Fowlie, who was a stranger to her, apologized to her at first and claimed he was trying to pass her. The woman responded by saying he shouldn't worry about it and she'll call the RCMP and her husband.
But then, Fowlie grabbed her and dragged her out of the vehicle. She struggled, kicked and bit Fowlie, who grabbed her hair and knocked her head against the side of the van and then forced her into the back of the vehicle.
He then drove a further 25 kilometres west along the highway to Pascoe Road, an isolated spur off Isle Pierre Road, where he slapped, choked, beat and sexually assaulted her. Fowlie told the woman he would have to kill her because he did not want to go to jail, but backed off when she began talking about her family, her children and her grandchildren.
Fowlie drove her back to her vehicle but by that time others were on the scene. He kept going and dropped her off at a different location. She made her way to a West Beaverly home at about 6:15 a.m.
Fowlie turned himself in the next day.
In sentencing Fowlie, then Prince George provincial court judge Ron Tindale said Fowlie carried out the offence in an "opportunistic and predatory fashion" and put the woman, a married mother of two who was 62 years old at the time, in fear of her life and left her severely injured and traumatized. A court-ordered ban prohibits her name from being published.
According to the parole board's decision, a psychologist concluded he is a low risk for violent and sexual re-offending and is an appropriate candidate for day parole with a reasonable release plan. Fowlie, who has no previous criminal record, has been working with a psychologist to address grief and loss issues and has admitted to being an alcoholic and must remain abstinent.
The number of programs Fowlie took while incarcerated was also recognized and the board received numerous letters of support from friends and family.
But the board also heard from the victim and 10 of her supporters who asked that parole not be granted.
"In reaching this decision, the board has considered the extreme level of unprovoked violence, the duration of the attack and the fact that the attack was not that long ago," the board said in the decision.
"The skills that you have learned in programming have not yet been tested in the community and the board is of the opinion that your risk of substance abuse needs additional work. The board is of the opinion that you require a slow and structured release into the community."
Fowlie had planned to be released to a halfway house in eastern Canada, where he hopes to live with his wife and family, and continue to visit a psychologist, participate in a sex offender program, attend Alcoholics Anonymous and find employment.
Fowlie must now wait until early 2015 before he can apply once again for day parole. However, he can also apply for full parole, where he is not required to live at a halfway house, in Nov. 2015.
