One hundred and fifty-five children have been abducted and murdered in Canada since 1970, most of them young girls snatched near their homes and killed within a few hours by predators with criminal records, according to a survey by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

The findings, which reveal an unprecedented look at child abduction and murder in Canada, are based on public records, court decisions and media reports on cases dating back nearly 50 years.

The study excludes cases where the person responsible (or believed to be responsible) was a parent of the child or close relative.

These cases involve strangers or acquaintances who target children as young as 2, plan an approach, abduct and kill them, according to the preliminary study, obtained exclusively by the Toronto Star. The full study is to be released later this year.

“We were inspired to do this difficult analysis with the idea that what one single child’s story may not be able say, the collective voice of many, could,” says Lianna McDonald, executive director of the Winnipeg-based Centre for Child Protection. “Something that was very impactful was the heinous nature of the crimes committed against the children.

“The degree of violence and brutality is horrifying.”

This data question how well children are protected by Canada’s justice system.

Fifty-five per cent of offenders had a prior criminal record and 29 per cent of those were convicted of a prior violent or sexual offence against a child.

Lesley Parrott’s daughter, Alison, was abducted and murdered in Toronto in 1986.

Alison was 11 and lured to Varsity Stadium for a photo shoot. Her body was found two days later near the Humber River.

Francis Carl Roy, who was convicted of Alison’s murder, had been on parole for raping two teenage girls.

“I do think there is real opportunity here for good impact on policies and understanding on the part of families, educators, police, parole boards and judges,” says Parrott. “The things that jump out at me is the parole situation, the luring was there, the murder happening within hours. All the way through there are things that speak to our situation.”

Roy remains in prison.

Here is a partial story — by the numbers — of what the study reveals:

Who are the offenders?

92 per cent of Canada’s child murderers are men.

68 per cent of them are Caucasian in their 20s (the average age is 26 with nearly a quarter under the age of 18).

55 per cent of offenders had a criminal record when the offence was committed. At least 33 per cent of those had committed a violent or sexual offence against a child.

22 per cent of the offenders were either on parole, probation or out on bail.

80 per cent of offenders remain incarcerated or are being held in a medical facility.

30 offenders are currently eligible for some form of parole.

8 offenders are eligible for full parole within the next five years.

4 offenders are currently on parole.

Timeline:

3 hours: In the vast majority of cases, the child victims were sexually abused and then killed, usually within three hours (Time between abductions and murders was determined for 60 per cent of the victims in the study).

“It’s easier and safer to simply dispose of the child,” says Michael Bourke, chief of the behavioural analysis unit for the United States Marshals Service and an international expert in child sex offender profiling.

“Once he’s done with her, she’s a burden … (The child’s) purpose was to satisfy their sexual predilections, or to get back at their ex-wife, or whatever. But once that’s satisfied, they’re done. They have no interest in getting (the child) medical attention. They have no desire to continue listening to (the child) complain and beg.”

The most common patterns in abduction cases:

“Many of the victims in the study were engaged in everyday, regular activities and the offender exploits and takes advantage of that moment in time to abduct the child,” says McDonald. “The child is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

84 per cent of victims were girls and 16 per cent were boys.

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11.6 years old was their average age.

77 per cent were Caucasian.

45 per cent were abducted on Friday or Saturday.

53 per cent happened between 3:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.

41 per cent occurred in June, July and August.

“The time of year when these occur is likely attributable to access,” says Bourke. “The kids are out of school and are walking or playing in their neighbourhood when they are taken.”

68 per cent of the children were alone.

67 per cent were travelling in transit between home and school, the mall, a park or a friend’s house.

68 per cent of the abductions took place within blocks of the child’s home or school.

29 per cent of offenders lived in the neighbourhoods where the abduction happened.

55 per cent of offenders used a vehicle of some kind in the abduction.

Methods of abduction:

“There are generally no witnesses to the abduction of a child and so it is very difficult to determine if the abductor physically forced the victim to accompany her/him initially, or if the tactic used was more subtle, such as a ruse or lure,” the study says.

In fewer than 20 per cent of abductions, force appeared to have been used.

37 per cent of the victims were held within walking distance of where they were last seen, the study says. “Serial offenders” tended to take them farther away.

77 per cent of the offender’s purpose was sexual, according to “a combination of medical evidence, a legal finding made in the court proceedings, or an admission by the offender.”

100 per cent of the instances that involved a serial offender were sexually motivated.

55 per cent of victims for whom body-location site was known were found outside of a populated area such as a city or a town.

76 per cent of the bodies were found within a month.

41 per cent were found by a member of the public and 20 per cent were located by police.

“It is the parent’s worst nightmare. I’ve been there,” says Wilma Derksen, cited in the study, whose daughter, Candace, was abducted and murdered at age 13.

“It is important to set up preventative measures so that no parent ever has to face that moment — ever — and for those cases where it was unpreventable, then there needs to be a system of support so that the parents at least have the assurance they don’t need to face the darkness alone.”