Randall Hopley, 46, was today (August 10) ordered in Cranbrook Supreme Court to undergo a psychiatric assessment to determine if he should be deemed a dangerous offender for abducting three-year-old Sparwood resident Kienan Hebert.

Madam Justice Heather Holmes ordered Hopley to be remanded in the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital (sometimes called The Colony Farm) in Port Coquitlam for 60 days, after which he will be returned to the same custodial status he’s been under since being arrested Sept. 13, 2011, two days after he returned Kienan to his home. He had the boy for four days at a cabin located near Coleman, Alta.

Before agreeing to Crown Counsel’s application for a psychiatric assessment, Madam Justice Holmes concluded that Hopley’s actions were likely to inflict severe psychological damage, even though it appears that wasn’t the case with Kienan or his family members.

“Common experience tells us that nothing is more frightening to parents than the loss of a child,” Holmes stated, adding, “the agony the parents were likely to feel” over a four-day period not knowing if their child was alive or well would be significant.

Despite the fact the Hebert family did file a victim impact statement and have told Hopley that they forgive him, “Mr. Hopley made the bogeyman real and in their home.”

She added that “it seems likely that victims of such a crime “will likely never feel secure again in their home.” If the Hebert family didn’t experience “ongoing consequences” of the crime, “many others would have done so.”

She also suggested that Hopley, “in essence, was lucky in his choice of victim,” explaining that because the family, which has since moved away from Sparwood, adapted and overcame the incident so well, and forgave him, that it appears they and Kienan haven’t suffered great psychological trauma.

Prior to ordering the psych assessment, Madam Justice Holmes outlined the steps and events taken up to the court appearance, taking pains to ensure all details were presented, noting that if Hopley eventually is found to be a dangerous offender, he could receive “potentially one of the most extreme” sentences in the judicial system – life in jail without parole.

Hopley, dressed in a grey striped dress shirt and baggy grey sweat pants, periodically sighed and leaned to the right in the prisoner’s box when the psych assessment was ordered. He will be removed to Nelson for a couple of days, beginning tomorrow (August 11) before being transferred to Port Coquitlam.

His next appearance in court will be via video feed on Oct. 15 to fix a date for a hearing.

Outside the court, Hopley’s defense counsel William Thorne stated, “I am a little bit disappointed but certainly not surprised” with Madam Justice Holmes’ decision to support the Crown’s application to remand his client in custody for a psychiatric assessment. “It’s important to note that he’s not been found to be a dangerous offender. That did not happen today.”

He said there is an important and somewhat unique designation in this case, as Hopley has been ordered to undergo a psych assessment without having been found to have inflicted severe physical or psychological damage.

“There is no actual severe psychological damage. There is no evidence of that, in fact, it is quite the opposite. The difficulty is given the nature of the offence itself, the abduction, it is possible someone would suffer severe psychological damage and the (Criminal) Code is rather vague in that regard. The code provides that if the offence was likely to cause that, then the offence could be a serious physical injury offense. But the judge decided it was likely that could happen,” he noted, “possibly to another family.”

If Hopley’s assessment results in findings that he is not a dangerous offender, the Crown will then seek to have him tried as a ‘long-term offender,’ which has a fixed sentence in custody followed by parole, with court supervision for the rest of his life.

Crown Counsel Lynal Doerksen said he was pleased with the ruling because a more thorough hearing will result.

He agreed with Thorne that the case “is unique. The facts are unique” and also agreed with Madam Justice Holmes that Hopley was lucky he selected the Hebert family to victimize.

“They handled this extremely well,” he said. “As the judge said, most people would not have handled it as well.

Above image: Defense counsel William Thorne addresses the media outside the Cranbrook Court House.

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

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