Suspect in several unsolved N.S. murders denied unescorted release: Andrew Paul Johnson is ‘within the high range of risk for sexual offending’
The parole board has refused temporary escorted absences for a suspect in several unsolved Nova Scotia murders.
Andrew Paul Johnson, 64, is serving an indeterminate sentence in a British Columbia prison after being declared a dangerous offender.
“Reports indicate you also remain a suspect in several murders in Nova Scotia that involve missing/murdered women,” said his most recent parole decision.
“Your file indicates you have not been charged and there is no indication charges are forthcoming.”
Johnson landed behind bars 26 years ago after he tried unsuccessfully to abduct three different young girls in B.C.
‘Absconded from your home province’
“In October 1997, while on unlawfully at large from probation with conditions restricting contact with female children, you absconded from your home province of Nova Scotia to British Columbia,” said his latest parole decision.
“After arriving in BC, you tried to abduct three 12-year-old girls by pretending you were a police officer and using a ruse to get them into your car. All the victims were able to get away from you and the police were notified. You then stopped a 20-year-old mentally challenged woman who was riding a bike and used a similar ruse to convince her to get into your car,” said the parole board.
“You stopped to urinate and a police officer recognized your vehicle from reports of the earlier abduction attempts and arrested you. The police recovered a large meat cleaver from under the driver’s seat, beer cans from the passenger side floor and a broken toy police badge that was stuffed between the driver’s seat and console. In the vehicle’s trunk the police found a full-head mask, toy handcuffs, packing tape and pornography material.”
Johnson was intoxicated at the time.
‘Minimized the seriousness’
“During sentencing the judge noted several aggravating factors including your history of sexual offences and your attitude towards treatment,” said the parole board.
“The judge also accepted a psychological diagnosis that you were a pedophile and a high risk to reoffend. In terms of mitigating factors, the judge identified a lack of threats, physical violence or use of weapons.”
At his parole board hearing, Johnson “minimized the seriousness of the offence,” said the decision released late Wednesday, but dated Oct. 13.
“You said that you did not think the victim was scared and you stated that the items found in your car were not related to your offending. You stated they were in your car because you were ‘moving’ across the country, when you were actually fleeing from charges in your home province,” said the parole board.
‘Responses were vague’
Johnson’s “responses were vague” and he “required repeated prompting for a full account,” said the parole decision.
“In this regard, the board found your presentation was similar to that described by a psychologist who completed a recent psychological assessment.”
The victims of his kidnapping attempts “describe the trauma (they) have experienced as a result of your actions,” said the parole board.
Johnson has “a lengthy criminal history that began at a young age,” according to the decision.
“Your previous convictions include property offences, drug offences, forcible confinement, (committing) indecent act, criminal harassment and (uttering) threats. You have committed violent and sexual offences, involving inappropriately touching young girls, masturbating in your vehicle while watching female children play, engaging in sexual acts with a 12-year-old girl, stalking a former fiancé, and physically and sexually assaulting several intimate partners. Reports note you have admitted to committing more than 50 residential break and enters for which you were neither charged nor convicted.”
‘Matter of fact style’
Johnson spoke at his parole hearing of his past violent criminal offences “in what appeared to be a matter-of-fact style,” said the decision denying him unescorted temporary absences from prison.
“You did admit your contact with the victims was planned and sexually motivated. When questioned about an incident of intimate partner violence, you indicated you tied up and repeatedly raped the victim because she continued to come into your space and provoke you. The board found that your accountability for your thinking and behaviours was limited and that you externalized blame.”
Before he got locked up, Johnson worked as a chef and coast guard crewman. He grew up in Clayton Park, and once cooked at Chester’s Windjammer Restaurant.
“You report you fell in with the wrong crowd in high school, started misusing drugs and alcohol and stopped going to school in Grade 11,” said the parole board.
“You started working and then completed a three-year cooking course at a vocational school. You also completed your general educational diploma, however your addiction issues persisted.”
‘A catalyst’
Johnson told the board he was “sexually assaulted as a youth on several occasions when picked up as a hitchhiker. Reports indicate you physically assaulted your mother for a period by punching her in the arm when you argued.”
Johnson told the board he struggled with “intimate relationships and experiences of rejection, resulting in feelings of low self-worth and confidence. You fixated on an early sexual experience and report this was a catalyst to you offending against young girls because you wanted to further this experience. You have a history of prostitution use, one-night stands and several common-law relationships.”
Johnson once “maintained a lengthy relationship with a woman who was 20 years older” than him, said the parole board, noting that this “included substance use and verbal assaults, and during one incident you sexually assaulted her.”
His most recent psychological risk assessment, completed in April 2022, noted “you continue to be assessed a moderate-high risk for future violent offending and are within the high range of risk for sexual offending. It was the author’s opinion your behaviour could be managed in a reduced security environment but would require a reassessment if you were to experience a change in your mood or behaviour. The psychologist determined your risk on conditional release remains premature given concerns related to insight, minimization, rationalization, and overconfidence.”
‘Elevated risk’
The psychologist recommended a “period of successful participation in” escorted temporary absences to assess Johnson’s “risk management skills within higher risk environments. The assessor noted you remain at elevated risk should you abscond in the community and if you were to have access to potential victims.”
Johnson is “assessed as a high risk for family violence,” said the parole board.
Johnson has a “history of associating primarily with other individuals who abuse substances and engage in criminal behaviour,” said the parole board. “You have committed criminal activity alone and while in the company of others.”
He takes “full responsibility” for the attempted kidnappings that landed him behind bars indefinitely.
“You have reportedly displayed remorse for your offending and have demonstrated victim empathy. You appear to understand how your actions significantly impacted your victims’ lives.”
‘Notable progress’
Johnson has “made notable progress against (his) risk factors needs since” landing behind bars, said his parole decision.
“The board finds the progress you have demonstrated over time to be an indication of your desire for change and a willingness to engage meaningfully in interventions,” said the parole board.
“At your hearing, you said that you keep detailed logs of your deviant sexual thoughts and fantasies. You said you are mindful not to masturbate to inappropriate sexual thoughts and when triggered by a scene on television or hearing inappropriate talking, you take steps to change your thinking. You indicated you are actively taking steps to change how you think.”
Johnson has taken several courses aimed at rehabilitating sex offenders.
“The program report, dated August 2023, indicates you are respectful, have been sober for approximately 22 years, and are actively involved in AA.”
‘Logs of your sexual thoughts’
The same report “noted that any alcohol or drug use or heightened emotions could negatively impact your ability to manage other risk factors,” said the parole board.
“In addition to core programs, you have continued to provide logs of your sexual thoughts and fantasies and have provided them to a correctional program officer. Reports indicate there are indications of improvements in your ability to draw connections to past experiences and be more disclosive and open.”
Johnson got an escorted temporary absence in November of 2019 to tour a minimum-security institution, and more recently completed one “to an agricultural organization that employs offenders.”
He also had one to a halfway house and another to see a psychologist.
“File information indicates you have completed 16 (escorted temporary absences) with no concerns noted and have been approved for additional (escorted temporary absences) to attend men-only Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.”
Johnson told the parole board that he did not experience any stressors during the escorted temporary absences.
‘Did not want to be perceived as ogling’
“When there were girls passing by, you were conscious of not looking directly at them because you did not want to be perceived as ogling at them. You said that one of your worries when you are in the community, is doing something wrong inadvertently.”
Johnson is now living in “a psych-geriatric unit of (his) current institution as a caregiver.”
His warden “has expressed support for minimum-security however additional approvals are required for this change,” said the parole board.
Johnson applied for unescorted temporary absences to a halfway house in B.C.’s Lower Mainland area.
‘Next logical step’
His parole officer thought those would be “the next logical step in your case and would allow you to demonstrate you can be managed in the community.”
She noted it wouldn’t be advisable for Johnson to “use public transportation yet” and that he’d talked about buying a bicycle.
“You told the board that you would benefit from attending AA meetings, want to prove you can be trusted and that you will not reoffend. You said that it would be helpful for you to have a gradual release because you have been in prison for a long time. You identified desirable locations in the community as coffee shops, restaurants, a place to buy clothes, church and meetings with volunteers from” Circles of Support and Accountability, a volunteer-driven and community-based model for enhancing community safety though supporting high-risk offenders that are returning home.
‘Dramatic positive change’
Johnson’s volunteer assistant at the parole hearing, who has known him for about 25 years, “said both he and your sister have noted a dramatic positive change in you. He said that you have always demonstrated a sincere desire to improve,” said the decision.
Police sources told The Chronicle Herald in 1998 that Johnson was a suspect in the 1989 disappearance of Kimberly McAndrew, the 1992 murder of Andrea King and the killing of Stephen Michael Hall, whose body was found in the woods near Chester in 1996. King’s remains were found in a wooded area in Lower Sackville on Dec. 22, 1992 — almost a year after she disappeared. McAndrew was 19 when she disappeared from Quinpool Road in August 1989. Her remains have not been found.
In March of 2013, police spent four days searching a property in Shad Bay that belonged to Johnson’s brother. While the search – which included the use of cadaver dogs and scuba divers – was fruitless, police said at the time it involved one specific crime.
‘Early stages’
Two years ago, Johnson told the parole board he wants to come home to Nova Scotia when he’s released from a British Columbia prison.
Johnson seems to recognize he’s in “the early stages of learning how to internally respond to the presence of individuals, who resemble (his) potential victim pool,” said his most recent parole decision.
“Given these concerning factors, when considered in combination with the uncertainty you will face in the community with the plan presented, it is the board’s opinion that you will, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society during your absence.”
Places Johnson proposed visiting alone while out of prison included “malls, community centres, recreation centres and parks,” said the parole board.
“While these locations may be desirable for your reintegration, the likelihood of children/teens being present without adult supervision is a concern.”
