Kelowna Law Courts

(KATHY MICHAELS / iNFOnews.ca)

The West Kelowna teacher who went to prison for the sexual exploitation of a student at his school has been given day parole, though he doesn’t yet meet the bar for full parole.

The Parole Board of Canada held a hearing earlier this month, and weighed whether Bradley Furman, 31, would pose a risk to society if he accessed limited freedoms.

Having assessed his behaviour behind bars, efforts made to address the issues that led him to break the law and recent psychological assessments the board found that Furman was a low risk to re-offend so long as there are checks and balances in place — something he agreed with.

Since being incarcerated they say he’s gained insight and understanding regarding the precursors to his offence and has taken steps to mitigate his risk to society. There’s been positive engagement in his correctional plan and he has positive family support. They found he still has a moderate need for improvement in the areas of personal/emotional orientation, attitude, marital/family, education/employment, and associates.

READ MORE: West Kelowna teacher who sexually exploited student gets 2 more years behind bars

All of this was together was “sufficient for the board to conclude that (he) will not present an undue risk to society if released on day parole. The Board also finds that (his) release will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating (his) reintegration into society as a law–abiding citizen,” reads the report.

Therefore, day parole was granted.

“With regard to full parole, the board finds that (he requires) a gradual return to the community,” reads the report.

“(Furman’s) persistent disregard for court-imposed conditions and unwillingness to comply with court-imposed rules while on bail is an aggravating aspect of (his) case that raises concerns regarding the manageability of (his) risk should (he) fail to comply,” reads the report.

As a result, the Board found he requires the structure and support of the Community Registered Facility identified in his release plan.

“Full parole does not provide such support. Therefore, the board concludes (his) risk on full parole is undue and full parole is denied,” reads the report.

With day parole he still has to abide by specific conditions, including not being in the presence of any female children under the age of 18 unless he is accompanied by a responsible adult who knows his criminal history and has previously been approved in writing, by his parole supervisor.

“You have committed sexual offences against a vulnerable female youth. Limiting your access to children or places where children congregate will reduce your risk to reoffend and is necessary to protect the public,” reads the report to Furman.

He’s also not allowed near his victim or her family, or to possess a computer or technological device that would allow unsupervised access to the internet and he must follow a treatment plan.

Furman also must immediately report all intimate sexual and non-sexual relationships and friendships with females to his parole supervisor.

“You attribute relationship instability and lack of intimacy as a factor in your offending. Reporting relationships to your Case Management Team will allow them to monitor your relationships with women, including relationship dynamics indicative of your risk to re-offend,” the parole board said.

Furman is serving two years, two months, and 19 days for Sexual Exploitation, obstructing justice and failing to comply with bail conditions.

His sentence started February 2020 and he was subject to a no-contact order, a DNA order, and a 20-year ancillary order related to sex offending, for during 2017 and 2018, developing a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, that started with a slew of online messages.

The teen was a student at the school Furman taught at and there, and in his home, they had sex.  

Once caught, Furman continued to make contact with the girl and went to some lengths to avoid detection.

“(He) repeatedly breached court-ordered conditions and were re-arrested, due to contacting the victim and being intimate with her, approaching the victim's sister, purchasing an internet device and using Skype to communicate with the victim, and having the victim at (his) residence,” reads the parole document.

“The victim decided to end the relationship and notified police. In July 2019, police executed a search warrant on (his) residence, and located the internet device that contained communications between (he) and the victim.”

Furman told the board his unhappy marriage, inability to express his emotions, feeling sexually unfulfilled and being a “people pleaser” resulted in his “imploding” on himself.

He said that it appeared at the time the victim took an interest in him both physically and sexually and because he felt undesired and unfulfilled in his marriage,  his views about the victim culminated in his engaging in a sexual relationship.

He denies intentionally grooming the victim but said he has come to recognize how his interactions with the victim, and how he treated her differently contributed to his offending.

Find past stories on Bradley Furman here.

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