High-risk sex offender Randall Hopley evaded police manhunt by hiding under a bridge, court hears

High-risk sex offender Randall Hopleyhidout under a bridge in South Vancouver while thesubject of an intense 10-day police manhunt and Canada-wide warrant in November.

The detailsemerged Friday during sentencing arguments in Vancouver provincial courtwhere Hopley has pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching his long-term supervision order and one chargeoffailing to appear in court.

The 58-year-old walked away from his halfway housein Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Nov. 4, taking his belongings in a box and wagon, beforecutting off his electronic monitoring ankle bracelet.

A significant police effortfailed to find any trace of the fugitive and Vancouver police said he had "gone to ground," meaning he was intentionally trying to evade capture.

Ten days later he appeared at the door of theVancouver Police Department annex on East Cordova Street in the early morning, waiting for it to open so he could turn himself inbecause he was cold, police said.

Crown is asking for a cumulative four-year jail sentence for the four charges, noting Hopley's disturbing history of child sexual abuse and high risk of breaching court orders.

"When you go AWOL you [lose] any attempt that society has, or the courts orcorrection authorities have, of controlling and managing Mr. Hopley's risk in community,"aCrown lawyersaid.

Hopley's defence is asking for a six-month sentence, arguing in part that heshould be given some credit for turning himself in.

The agreed statement of facts read into the court record noted that Hopley said in a police interview that heran away from the halfway house because he was "annoyed at people."

Hopley told police that while AWOL, he hungout under a bridge that wasquite busy during the day but quiet between the hours of 2 a.m. and 4a.m. PT.

Hopley's defence counsel told the court the bridge was in South Vancouver.

During Friday's hearing,Hopley sat casually beside his lawyer at the front of the courtroom wearing a red prison jumpsuit.

His record of child sexual abuse involves multiple victims and dates back to the 1980s.

Hopleyserved a total ofsix yearsin prison for abducting a three-year-old in the middle of the night from his home in Sparwood, B.C., in 2011. He returned the boy to his home four days later after holding him in an abandoned cabin.

He was released under a10-year supervision order in November 2018, at which time Vancouver police issued a public warning that he still posed a risk of significant harm to young boys.

In November 2022, he was found to have breached his supervision order, which dictates that he cannot connect to theinternet unsupervised and cannot be around children under the age of 16.

Hopley was observed by a member of theVancouver Police Department's high-risk offender unit browsing underwear ads and looking at anewsarticle about a young boy on a computer at the Marpole Library. He was also in the vicinity of a group of children attending a storytime event at the library.

After being charged, he was given bail and returned to the halfway house, but he failed to attenda court hearing for those charges because he was on the lam from the halfway house.

The judge in the case has reserved her decision.