McCallum furious ‘Marpole Rapist’ set to be released to Surrey halfway house

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — Surrey’s mayor is calling the decision to grant day-parole to a man convicted of the violent sexual assaults of 11 women “infuriating” and “irresponsible.”

Doug McCallum is demanding more information about the release of Gary Jagur Singh, known as the “Marpole Rapist,” into a halfway house in the city.

“Singh is a designated dangerous offender and I am frustrated by the lack of information coming from the RCMP. For the safety of the people of Surrey, I believe that our residents need to be told where this prolific sexual predator is residing in Surrey. That  information should be made available immediately,” he writes in a statement, adding Singh’s parole was revoked in 2008 after he breached conditions.

However, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards says he personally told McCallum about this and notes there are legal and privacy considerations.

“Unfortunately, the threshold for a Public Interest Disclosure was not met in this situation for a variety of reasons including whether the individual posed an imminent threat, the recommended conditions, and the strong release plan approved by the Parole Board. However, we are aware of the significant conditions in place for this individual, including electronic monitoring, and we will be monitoring this individual, along with Correctional Service Canada.”

In a release, Edwards says he spoke to McCallum about Singh’s release twice, and admits he could only relay limited information.

“I personally advised Mayor McCallum of the situation on two separate occasions and provided him the information that could legally be provided to him regarding this situation. While I acknowledge that the limited information that the police are able to provide in these cases can cause frustration, we have a legal obligation to balance the privacy of individuals and the risk to public safety.”

Singh was convicted of dozens of offences related to attacks on 11 female victims and declared a dangerous offender.

“The sentencing Judge found that given your pattern of sexual assaults and the extreme harm you caused to the victims, that an indeterminate sentence would serve the interests of public safety and ensure that you would return to society only when you could demonstrate that you have brought you paraphilia under control,” says a decision from the Parole Board.

Eight of his victims were at home sleeping when he broke in, threatened them with a weapon, and raped them. Three of his victims were preyed upon while walking down the street, before Singh dragged them into a secluded area and raped them.

“Mr. Singh, you committed deeply traumatic sex crimes against a number of women. Many of those women awoke to you in their bedroom, making the event strike at the very core of their sense of safety in the world and you made this worse with the use of a weapon and threats towards the women, and in some cases their children, if they didn’t comply with your sexual demands. Your demonstrated ability to engage in such violence is a concern for the Board,” read the decision.

He was released on parole in 2006 but had it revoked in 2008 when he was found with a woman in the sex trade, which was a violation of one of the conditions of his release.

Singh will be bound by the following conditions:

• Not to consume, purchase or possess alcohol
• Immediately report all intimate sexual and non sexual relationships and friendships with females, including any changes in those relationships, to your parole supervisor
• Not to own or operate a motor vehicle
• Not to be in the company of sex trade workers
• Not to be present in areas where sex trade workers are known to frequent
• Respect a curfew from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am except for work-related reasons and with your parole supervisor’s prior written agreement
• Follow psychological counselling to be arranged by your parole supervisor to address identified risk areas in support of safe reintegration
• Not to enter establishments, including strip clubs, where the primary source of income is derived from the sale or consumption of alcohol
• Not to be in the geographic locations of Vancouver Island or the Gulf Islands
• No contact with your sister
• No direct or indirect contact with the victims or any members of the victims’ families

With files from Alison Bailey