Why was day parole granted to Edmonton serial rapist Matthew McKnight?

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Last month, the Parole Board of Canada granted day parole to Matthew McKnight, the former Edmonton bar promoter serving an 11-year prison sentence for raping multiple women.

McKnight’s trial was one of the highest-profile Canadian sexual assault cases of the early Me Too era and among the longest in Edmonton’s history. Here is a breakdown of the case and the parole board’s justification for granting him early release.

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Who is Matthew McKnight?

Originally from Vancouver, McKnight attended business school in Edmonton and later worked as a promoter for now-defunct nightclubs including The Old Strathcona Rack and Knoxville’s Tavern. He was known for wearing colourful onesies and dispensing free liquor in hopes of attracting young women to the establishments. He also hosted after parties at his Downtown apartment, where multiple women said he sexually assaulted them.

In 2016, Edmonton police charged McKnight with more than a dozen counts of sexual assault. He was eventually tried on 13 counts and convicted of five. The parole board noted other charges that were “not fully adjudicated that are similar” to the counts that went to trial, including two counts of assault, four counts of forcible confinement and 15 counts of sexual assault.

What was the evidence at his trial?

All the women who testified recalled McKnight giving them alcohol. The five whose evidence the jury accepted described sudden, uncharacteristic blackouts before coming to in McKnight’s apartment, sometimes as he was assaulting them. They had little to no idea where they were or how they got there. Some were unable to move or speak.

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McKnight claimed the sexual encounters were consensual. He said he “hooked up” with 200-300 women between 2010 and 2016, but was nevertheless able to testify about the specific details of each encounter, including how much each person had to drink.

The Crown claimed McKnight drugged some of the women, which trial Judge Doreen Sulyma ultimately rejected. McKnight told court he would “go to my grave screaming out that I did not drug these women’s drinks.”

What was McKnight’s sentence?

In July 2020, Sulyma sentenced McKnight to eight years in prison for the five assaults, prompting outcry in the courtroom from victims and their supporters.

The Crown asked for 22 1/2 years, while defence lawyer Dino Bottos sought five to nine. Sulyma said 16 1/2 years would have been an appropriate sentence, but reduced the total under the principle of “totality,” which says consecutive sentences for multiple crimes should not be overly harsh or “crushing.”

The Alberta Court of Appeal later increased McKnight’s sentence to 11 years, finding Sulyma misapplied the totality principle, creating a sentence “lenient to the point of undermining public confidence in the administration of justice.”

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McKnight appealed his conviction, arguing prosecutor Mark Huyser-Wierenga inappropriately used sarcasm, off-colour language and inappropriate lines of questioning during cross examination. The Court of Appeal rejected McKnight’s argument and the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

What is day parole?

Except in the case of life sentences, parole is typically available to federal offenders one-third of the way through their prison term. Inmates can apply for day parole either six months before they are eligible for full parole or six months into their sentence, whichever is longer.

The idea is to gradually reintegrate offenders into society before they can no longer be supervised by the correctional system.

Day parole is usually served in a halfway house. Inmates on full parole can live in a private home. Both are subject to monitoring by parole supervisors.

Statutory release comes two-thirds of the way through a sentence and is typically granted to all inmates.

What is McKnight’s risk of reoffending?

McKnight underwent a variety of tests and was found to present an average risk of reoffending relative to other sex offenders. The parole board noted he spent four years on bail and had no issues complying with “restrictive” release conditions.

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McKnight’s latest conditions include abstaining from alcohol and reporting any relationships with women. He told the parole board he is now “celibate.”

What else did the parole board hear?

McKnight told the parole board he used sex to cope with “boredom, anxiety and loneliness.” He said others praised his “sexual exploits,” which fed his ego.

McKnight acknowledged there may have been “predatory aspects” to his offending, but insisted he did not “knowingly set out” to hurt the victims.

Jonathan Lemieux and Lisa Graham, the parole board members hearing the case, noted that while McKnight ultimately acknowledged his victims were drunk and did not consent, some of his statements on consent were problematic.

“You claim you were wilfully ignorant regarding the subject of consent which, in the board’s view, understated the gravity of your offences to such a degree as to trivialize them,” they stated.

McKnight said he now understands that people who are “incapacitated” by drugs and alcohol cannot consent to sex, and that consent for each act must be confirmed throughout.

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He hopes to go into financial planning, with his father earlier telling court he has a job waiting with his company after release. The board did note McKnight’s father displays some “minimization” regarding his son’s crimes.

The board ultimately said releasing McKnight on day parole would not present an “undue risk” to the public and that his release will facilitate his “reintegration into society as a law-abiding citizen.”

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