MANDEL: Schoolgirl killer Paul Bernardo set to torture families again

The families of his victims are 'very, very upset' the imprisoned rapist and murderer has another parole hearing

Published Sep 11, 2026  •  Last updated 19 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Jailed killer Paul Bernardo. Photo by HANDOUT / KINGSTON PENITENTIARY / FILES /Toronto Sun

There is not an ounce of empathy from this sadistic, schoolgirl sex killer.

Article content

For the fourth time in eight years, serial rapist and murderer Paul Bernardo is seeking parole.

Article content

Article content

Next month, the man who now officially goes by the name Paul Teale will appear in a room at La Macaza medium security prison where he’s been held since his quiet transfer in 2023 and try once again to convince a parole board that he’s no longer a danger after more than 30 years in prison.

And once again, the families of his victims Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy will be there to passionately urge against it.

Their longtime lawyer Tim Danson said this hearing is triggered by a section of the Criminal Code that requires a review of Bernardo’s parole eligibility from his dangerous offender designation – by law, the Parole Board must review Bernardo’s condition, history and circumstances for parole purposes every two years.

“Putting the families through this every two years is cruel. It’s got to end,” Danson told the Toronto Sun. “They’re very, very upset.”

Article content

Article content

In 1995, Justice Patrick LeSage agreed Bernardo met the strict criteria of being declared a dangerous offender – a designation reserved for the most heinous of violent criminals under the Criminal Code – and sentenced him to an indeterminate life sentence for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of Leslie Mahaffy, 14, and Kristen French, 15, in the early 1990s as well as the death of his sister-in-law Tammy Homolka and the rape of 14 women when he terrorized Scarborough between 1986 and 1990.

“You have no right ever to be released,” LeSage declared. “The behavioural restraint that you require is jail. You require it, in my view, for the rest of your natural life.”

Yet still he tries.

“This is pure entertainment for him,” Danson argues.

Read More

1. 

   MANDEL: Unfortunately, little chance 'Bernardo's Law' will pass

2. 

   MANDEL: Schoolgirl killer Paul Bernardo seeks parole for third time

3. 

   EDITORIAL: Violent sex killers should rot in jail

First attempt at parole in 2018

Bernardo’s first attempt was in 2018, followed by 2021 and his third losing try was in November 2024. It was another woe-is-me performance that failed to convince the panel to free him on day parole to a halfway house or, at the least, on temporary absences to attend a 12-part sex offender maintenance program.

Article content

But frighteningly, the board told him, “You have made some progress.”

Danson believes that for the most dangerous criminals serving a life sentence in Canada, there should be a different parole regime.

“For people like Paul Bernardo, I say every seven years,” he maintained.

Kristen French, 15, murdered by Paul Bernardo in 1992.

Instead, Donna French will have to face her daughter’s torturer, rapist and killer just two years after sharing pieces of her broken heart.

“It seems that just as the ink had dried on our previous victim impact statement, Doug and I have to muster up the strength to prepare a second statement,” she’d said at Bernardo’s parole hearing in 2021.

Now her husband is gone and she must do it alone.

“What does resting in peace mean when we have to relive these horrors every two years or so for the rest of our lives?” Debbie Mahaffy had demanded at the same hearing.

But the two mothers will share their torment yet again if it means keeping Bernardo behind “bars” – though La Macaza is described as a pretty cushy accommodation.

Article content

Leslie Mahaffy, 14,

Danson has written to the parole board on their behalf, insisting that since this is a hearing due to Bernardo’s dangerous offender status, it should include more comprehensive psychiatric evidence to respond to the damning reports at his sentencing hearing 32 years ago when he was found to be an incurable sadistic sexual psychopath.

He’s yet to hear back.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Cruel and unusual punishment to victims

And the 1,000 pages of self-serving drivel that Bernardo has been apt to file with the board ahead of his hearings – they’re not allowed to see, just as all his prison records, discipline history, psychological assessments, etc. etc. are locked away from public eyes. It would violate his privacy rights, don’t you know.

So the families will prepare their victim impact statements and prepare to face the devil again. What cruel and unusual punishment this is to the victims he’s destroyed.

As LeSage said three decades ago: “You have no right ever to be released. Everyone in this country knows that you are a dangerous offender, and you know that yourself.”

[email protected]

Article content