Parole documents detail lengthy criminal history of high-risk offender released in Regina

People in Regina’s Heritage neighbourhood were feeling some déjà vu this week, as they were once again warned by the Regina Police Service that Jason Paul Thorn was being released to a supervisory residence in the area.

Thorn is considered a high risk to reoffend sexually and has a history of offences against children and women, and police have warned the public each time he’s released. After each previous release he’s been arrested again within a few months, sentenced again and sent back behind bars.

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His latest release from custody was a statutory release, which is a mandatory release from prison after two thirds of a federal sentence has been served. The offender will then serve the rest of the sentence in the community under conditions.

There are only a few circumstances where statutory release could be denied, including the offender being likely to cause death or serious harm to another person, committing a serious drug offense or committing a sexual offence involving a child before the end of the sentence.

Anne-Marie Borle, a spokesperson for the Parole Board of Canada, explained in a statement that the board can’t choose not to grant an offender statutory release, and can only impose conditions on the release. She said a referral to detain an offender has to be put forward by the Correctional Service of Canada, with the board then determining if the right criteria has been met.

In the case of Thorn, Borle said there was no referral made by the correctional service to continue to detain him, so the board imposed a number of conditions on his release. 980 CJME has reached out to the Correctional Service of Canada to ask why no referral was made in Thorn’s case.

Thorn’s history

Parole documents for Thorn detail a long history of crime and disregard for conditions placed on him by the legal system.

The originating crime for his current situation happened in 1997. At Echo Valley Provincial Park, he used a sharp stick to slice a hole in a tent. Inside the tent, he grabbed and touched an 11-year-old girl, committing sexual assault, until she and her two brothers who were also in the tent fought him off.

The documents said that not even five minutes later, Thorn slashed a hole in the side of another tent and lunged on top of the woman inside. She fought back and screamed while he hit, scratched and punched her, leaving her needing stitches. Other campers came to help the woman, and Thorn ran away.

Thorn was sentenced to more than five years in jail, and wasn’t granted statutory release at that time, with the parole board saying it was satisfied that, if released, he would be likely to commit an offense causing serious harm to another person and would be likely to commit a sexual offence involving a child.

The incident in 1997 wasn’t the first run-in Thorne had with the law. His many parole document said he was convicted of repeatedly and brutally sexually assaulting a child under two years old who was in his care, leaving the boy for dead in the bushes, though the child ended up surviving the ordeal. Thorn had also admitted in the past to other sexual offenses for which he hadn’t been prosecuted, and to torturing animals.

After the 1997 conviction, Thorn was designated a long-term offender and handed a long-term supervision order of eight years, which he is still subject to today.

Since his original release after the 1997 crime, he’s been released and re-arrested at least 13 times – sometimes serving the full sentence, other times being granted statutory release. Most of the subsequent arrests have been for breaching the conditions imposed on him by the parole board, such as not using alcohol or non-prescribed drugs. In other instances, he’s been convicted of assault, robbery and being unlawfully at large.

In the most recent situation which got him returned in custody, he was found to be intoxicated in 2021, he chased two men down a hallway with a large kitchen knife in 2023, and cut he off his electronic monitoring bracelet and used alcohol and drugs in 2025.

His offenses weren’t only happening when he was released. The most recent parole details said he’s been hit with more than 50 institutional charges while imprisoned, for offences like fights, possession of weapons, masturbation in front of staff and exposing himself to female staff members.

He has completed some programming while in jail, though the most recent performance report from the high-intensity sex offender program, which he quit, said his risk factors were unchanged.

The parole documents also made note of Thorn’s history, saying he was abused at a residential school, began using drugs at the age of 10, and witnessed serious abuse at home, including seeing his father murder his mother.

Parole documents described Thorn as a moderate or high risk to others, based on a spousal assault risk assessment, psychological assessments and the Static 99, showing a high risk of sexual and violent recidivism.

The parole board noted the sentences and terms of incarceration have not deterred Thorn from committing crimes.

“Not much has changed over the years since your offending began… and this has continued throughout your adulthood,” read the decision document.

A previous decision called Thorn highly predatory, and the 2026 decision called him a deviant sexual offender and said his behaviour demonstrates a lack of insight into the consequences of his actions.

“You remain a high risk, high needs offender who continues to require a great deal of structure, close supervision and monitoring to ensure public safety,” the decision read.

Thorn’s most recent release came with 11 conditions, requiring him to have no contact with children, not to consume drugs or alcohol, have no contact with persons involved with crime or drugs, complete psychiatric treatment and follow treatment plans, not possess pornography, report any relationships, reside at a supervisory residence, follow psychological counselling, and not be near places where children under 18 would likely congregate – all conditions which have previously been imposed on Thorn.