Another appeal denied for notorious New York sex offender who committed crimes in N.S.

New York's Supreme Court has turned down an attempt by a notorious sex offender with ties to Nova Scotiato have a 2022 parole decision that keeps him incarcerated thrown out.

The decision comes asWilliam Shrubsall, 53, faces another parole hearing later this month.

On the third day of a 1996 trial in Niagara Falls, N.Y., for sexually assaulting a teenage girl, Shrubsall did not show up. His lawyerannounced his client had left a suicide note saying he was going to jump into Niagara Falls. This was also the day jury deliberations began.

Shrubsall turned up in Halifax within days.Living under several aliases, hecommitted a string of violentcrimes and sex assaults before being arrested in June 1998.

Shrubsallwasdesignated a dangerous offender in 2001and given an indeterminate prison sentence.

A CBC News investigation revealedCanadian parole board members did not challenge factual misrepresentations made to them by Shrubsall in a 2018 parole hearing.Their controversial decision to parole him paved the way for his 2019 deportation to the U.S., sparking outrage.

In 2020, Shrubsall pleaded guilty to bail jumping and criminal contempt, but he appealed that, arguing in part that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was denied.

A 2023 court decision from the Supreme Court of the State of New York's Appellate Division, FourthDepartmentrejected Shrubsall's appeal, "notingthe genesis of the extraordinary delay here was defendant's decision toabsent himself from his ongoing sex offenses trial."

Shrubsall's latest legal manoeuvring was an attempt to have the New York State Board of Parole overturn the2022 decision that noted his release would be "incompatible with the welfare of society."

He appealed that decisionto the state's Supreme Court in Wyoming County. In adecision issued Sept. 8, 2023, acting Supreme Court Justice Michael M. Mohunwrote that the parole board members "sufficiently stated" their reasons for denying parole, citing Shrubsall's "instant offenses and his prior criminal record."

What the latest court decision says

Shrubsallappealed the decision, which was rejected late last month by the Supreme Court's Appellate Division,Fourth Department.

The latest decision notes that Shrubsall argued the parole board "failed to measure hisrehabilitation under current legislative mandates because it did notuse a risk and needs assessment instrument tailored to hisprogramming."

However, the court disagreed.

The decision went on to say that despite Shrubsall's arguments,"the Board properlyconsidered the requisite factors and adequately set forth its reasonsto deny petitioner's application for release and 'that there was noshowing of irrationality bordering on impropriety,'" it said.

Another parole hearing this month

It's unclear how long Shrubsall will remain incarcerated. If his parole hearing later this month results in him not being released,his conditional release date is June 2027.

Shrubsall's long criminal history dates back to his teenage years.

In 1988, at age 17, he beat his mother to death with a baseball bat on the night before his high school graduation in Niagara Falls, where he was to be the valedictorian. He ended up serving 16 months.