A man convicted in one of Toronto's most notorious murders will remain behind bars in Kingston Penitentiary.
The National Parole Board denied parole yesterday to Wayne Robert Kribs, who is serving a life term for his role in the 1977 torture and killing of 12-year-old Emanuel Jaques.
"The board decided there was a high risk to reoffend," said Carol Sparling, the board's regional manager in Kingston.
The three-member panel decided on Mr. Kribs's application immediately after hearing it.
In his appeal, Mr. Kribs asked to reside in a halfway house, but the board ruled that that was "not a viable release plan."
A representative of the provincial Ministry of Correctional Services recommended against release of any kind, and the board has received many letters opposing parole, Ms. Sparling said.
The boy, a recent immigrant to Toronto, was earning money shining shoes on Yonge Street when he was lured to an apartment above a body-rub parlour with an offer of pay for helping to move some photographic equipment.
Mr. Kribs and two other men tied Emanuel up, sexually assaulted him and then drowned him and hid his body on a rooftop.
Community outrage over the murder led to an almost immediate crackdown on the commercial sex trade that had been tolerated on the street in the 1970s.
Saul Betesh and Josef Woods were sentenced to life imprisonment along with Mr. Kribs. While in prison, Mr. Woods slashed the throat of Mr. Betesh; the two are being kept in a high-security area.
When Mr. Kribs became eligible for parole this fall after serving 25 years, community members began a campaign to keep him locked up. "I'm glad about the decision," said Nellie Pedro, a Toronto school trustee who led a campaign this week urging people to write letters to the board opposing the parole.
She began the campaign after contacting Emanuel's sister, Maria Jaques, who said the family did not want to appear before the board because they did not want to upset their parents.
"We cannot face seeing one of the men that killed our angel Emanuel. The process is a nightmare to us," Ms. Jaques said in a statement she mailed to the board.
"We oppose his release now and for the remaining of his natural life. Releasing a dangerous offender like Kribs is placing my children, family and all Canadians at risk." Ms. Jaques said.
Under law, Mr. Kribs will be eligible for another parole review in two years.