A convict who became Canada’s youngest designated dangerous offender after sexually assaulting a three-month-old baby is seeking an escorted release from prison to attend Indigenous cultural ceremonies in Vancouver.

Tara Desousa, now 43, has asked the Federal Court to overturn a decision by BC’s Fraser Valley Institution to deny her “accompanied temporary absences” from the federal women’s prison.

Desousa, then called Adam Laboucan, was 15 years old in 1997 when he sexually assaulted a baby he was caring for in Quesnel, British Columbia. The baby required surgery to repair the injuries.

Desousa, who underwent gender-affirming operations while serving an indefinite sentence, also admitted to drowning a three-year-old boy when she was 11, which the judge in the sexual assault case said was under the age of criminal liability.

British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Victor Curtis imposed an indefinite sentence and dangerous offender designation in 1999 because there was no “foreseeable time frame in which Adam Laboucan could be cured.”

“In doing so, I do not intend for Mr. Laboucan to remain in prison for many years with no hope of release,” the judge wrote of the then 17-year-old.

“What is intended, and what must happen, is that Mr. Laboucan remains detained only for as long as the risk he represents requires.”

The British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld the dangerous offender designation in 2002.

Desousa’s application filed in Vancouver Federal Court in October says she first applied for accompanied leave to attend ceremonies at the Anderson Lodge “women’s healing center” in August 2023.

The lodge is run by the Circle of Eagles Lodge Society, an Indigenous-led organization headed by executive director Merv Thomas.

Thomas said in an interview that he could not comment on individual offenders, but that many people “who come into our facilities are dealing with a lot of historical trauma.”

He said the society takes a “holistic” approach to helping people heal through ceremonies held at the lodge, and “those who participate in the culture and ceremonies have a greater chance of positively reintegrating into the community.”

“We leave final judgments to the creator,” he said. “We don’t judge anyone who comes to us.”

He said there are “strict” conditions and protocols for offenders who come to the society’s facilities, and that the “safety of the community” is paramount.

In his decades working with the organization, Thomas said even he has trouble reading the files of the “brothers and sisters” who seek help from the society, reading about some of the “horrible things” they have done.

“But I also started reading and started understanding where they came from and some of the atrocities and the harm that was done to them,” he said.

“I understand and see both sides and many times it is very difficult to put aside our judgments. But at the same time we work with them and we believe that everyone has an opportunity for change.”

Desousa’s Vancouver-based lawyer, Caroline North, declined to comment on the Federal Court application.

Desousa has been denied several parole attempts, most recently in June 2024.

The Parole Board of Canada’s decision said the assault victim and her “family have suffered pain, anxiety and distress and long-term emotional impacts as a result of her offending.”

“Every time you apply for parole, they are tormented by your crime and the harm you inflicted on your defenseless son/grandson,” the decision said.

The board’s decision said Desousa was the victim of “extreme” abuse as a child, bullied at school, diagnosed with “several disorders” and exhibited “violent and sexual behavior” with other children.

He said Desousa’s case management team believed escorted temporary absences were “the next logical step in reintegration and gradual release.”

However, the board ruled that Desousa presented “an undue risk to society” if she was released on parole.

A profile under Desousa’s name appears on Canadian Inmates Connect, which connects convicts with potential pen pals.

“I have been incarcerated since I was 15 years old. “I was abused extensively as a child and did not know that this was not normal behavior,” the profile, which includes photographs, says. “Now I know and I am sorry. “I never had the opportunity to have proper interaction with the world growing up.”

Thomas said inmates who are approved for accompanied absences to attend the shelter have to go through a “rigorous” process, but those who participate in ceremonies and access other supports from elders and counselors see the greatest potential for reform and rehabilitation. .

“When people embrace their culture, that’s when we’ve seen the biggest change in people,” he said. “They have to do the work themselves because if they don’t, we can’t change them.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2024.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press