Former RNC officer Douglas Snelgrove has been released on parole, which he’s being allowed to serve at home with his wife.
But they’re disputing media reports that suggest he was released early, or got any special treatment.
Snelgrove was convicted of sexual assaulting an intoxicated woman he drove home while on patrol and in uniform.
It happened in 2014 and, seven years and three trials later, concluded with a guilty verdict and sentence of three years, nine months.
Then came the protests and appeals, finally exhausted earlier this year at Canada’s highest court, with periods of bail along the way.
That makes parole eligibility a tricky calculation, but Snelgrove and his wife insist he got no special treatment and wasn’t released 11 months early, as has been reported.
And the parole board backs them up, which does list Snelgrove’s eligibility as July 18 of this year.
He was released from New Brunswick’s Dorchester Penitentiary on August 9, after his hearing and decision, with his full parole date in January.
Neither Snelgrove nor his wife, Diana Parsons, would do a taped interview, citing continued stress and public vilification.
But in a statement to VOCM News, Parsons says little freedom has come with her husband’s release.
“Doug is a hated man,” she stated, “and I just as much for supporting him.”