‘Balaclava rapist’ gets day parole after more than 30 years in jail

EDMONTON — A man known as the “balaclava rapist” who sexually assaulted women in Alberta decades ago is being granted day parole in British Columbia after more than 30 years behind bars.

Larry Takahashi, 63, was serving three life sentences after admitting to raping at least 30 women in Edmonton in the 1970s and 1980s.

Takahashi was also permitted day parole 10 years ago, but it was revoked. Parole board documents said he violated conditions of his release by meeting with another sex offender at a beach without his parole officer’s permission.

The decision by the Parole Board of Canada that grants his most-recent release says Takahashi continues to have rape fantasies and is considered a moderate-to-high risk to reoffend. But it also says his willing participation in correctional programming has led to an overall reduction in his risk-factor ratings.

It also notes that he’s been clean from drugs for years, has abstained from pornography and displays increased accountability and transparency with his case managers.

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“The positives in your case are observable and measurable. Further, you have not been violent in years,” says the decision dated July 8.

Takahashi wore a balaclava to hide his face during attacks in Edmonton highrise apartments, but a fingerprint discovered on an unscrewed light bulb at one attack scene led to his arrest.

The parole board says Takahashi has been accepted at a halfway house in the B.C.’s Lower Mainland and notes that restricting him to the Vancouver area will assist in monitoring his behaviour.

Takahaski will have to adhere to a number of conditions including curfews, avoiding post-secondary campuses and abstaining from pornography, drugs and alcohol. He’s also forbidden from travelling with women in any vehicle other than a bus or SkyTrain without his parole supervisor’s permission.

The board says it considered statements of Takahashi’s victims as part of the review. It said one statement described the “never-ending devastating impact” his crime has had, and how that victim’s anger extends to the justice system.

It says it denied full parole because Takahashi’s self-management skills have not advanced to a point to mitigate his risk. 

The decision notes that Takahashi used to deny having rape fantasies, but now admits them. 

“The board asked you if they were related to the memories of your sex crimes and you agreed they were, but you went on to explain these memories no longer lead to deviant thinking, rather to an understanding of the impact your crimes have had on your victims.”

Rob Drinkwater, The Canadian Press