Jailed spy granted escorted leaves for church, banking: parole board

Jeffrey Paul Delisle leaves court in Halifax on Oct. 10, 2012. Convicted spy and former naval intelligence officer Jeffrey Delisle has been granted day parole and could be living in a halfway house this fall.The Parole Board of Canada says the junior navy officer was given day parole on Tuesday following a three-hour hearing at Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

HALIFAX -- Convicted spy Jeffrey Delisle has already been allowed to take escorted leaves from prison, according to a parole board ruling that offers more details about why he sold secrets to the Russians.

A Parole Board of Canada ruling this week granted day parole at a halfway house to the former junior officer, possibly as early as next month.

But it also said that Delisle has been a "model inmate" since being sentenced in 2013 to 20 years in prison, and that he had previously been granted 24 escorted absences to attend church.

He had also been granted temporary leaves to renew his driver's licence and open a bank account.

The parole board report, released in written form Thursday, notes police are "not supportive" of Delisle's release.

Delisle, who is in his mid-40s, started selling Western military secrets to Russia in 2007. He was caught four years later when the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation tipped off the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

He pleaded guilty to regularly passing classified western intelligence to Russia in exchange for $3,000 a month.

The naval threat assessment analyst used floppy discs and memory sticks to smuggle information out of Halifax's HMCS Trinity, the military intelligence centre on the East Coast.

Two parole board members who presided over a hearing Tuesday at Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick determined he was not likely to reoffend.

The board's ruling notes Delisle had said his motives were not financial, and called approaching the Russians "career suicide" at a time of emotional turmoil.

"You have stated ... you were deliberately trying to leave an obvious trail in hopes of being caught," the board said in its ruling.

It said his marriage had failed and he sought to re-establish his self-esteem and ego by offering to spy for the Russians. It said he wanted to "tear" off all that was good about himself, because these positive attributes had been rejected by the person he trusted most.

"Essentially you turned to crime and very risky behaviour in an attempt to manage personal turmoil," said the board.

The parole board report notes that Delisle has since learned to focus more on himself, and less on blaming his ex-wife for his crimes. And it notes that he acknowledged his spying could have harmed colleagues and others.

The parole is for a period of up to six months and takes effect in September, but it may begin later depending on bed availability at an unspecified facility. Delisle will have to report back to the halfway house every night.

The board said he must follow his treatment plan "in the area of personal/emotional and attitude" while on parole.

The ruling said Delisle has begun to pay the $111,817 restitution -- the full amount he took from the Russians.

He has a new partner, and plans on both seeking a job and doing volunteer work as a way of giving back to the community, it said.

"You want a chance to show society that you are truly meaningful in trying to better yourself," said the board.