Former boxer Dave Hilton out of prison after serving time for sexual assault

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This article was published 19/06/2006 (7352 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL (CP) – Former world boxing champion Dave Hilton Jr. described himself as an angry but innocent man following his prison release Monday after serving five years for sexually assaulting his two daughters.

One of the first things Hilton did just hours after leaving the prison was to visit his father’s boxing club where he hugged his family members and their children. Hilton said outside the club that he still believes he is innocent and the most difficult thing for him was “being accused of these charges.”

“I mean the anger that’s in there is hard to get rid of,” the 42-year-old said in an interview.

I figure, after two years, three years, it’d be gone, but it’s not,” said the fit-looking Hilton.

Hilton was convicted in March 2001 and his two daughters, now adults, later went to court to get a publication ban lifted on their identities to allow them to speak out.

Anne-Marie and Jeannie Hilton didn’t immediately comment on their father’s release from a medium-security prison north of Montreal.

The National Parole Board recently expressed concern when granting parole that Hilton has denied the sexual assaults and has insisted he is innocent.

The board said Hilton must take part in a program for sexual offenders in denial.

The boxer must also avoid being alone with females under the age of 18 without the presence of a “responsible” adult. He must have no contact with his daughters and abstain from intoxicants.

The parole board noted that Hilton is romantically involved with a woman who had two girls “in her environment.” One is a niece and the other a younger sister.

A jury convicted Hilton of all nine sex-related charges he faced involving his daughters. The abuse began when they were 12 and continued from 1995 to 1998.

His conviction resulted in the World Boxing Council stripping him of his super middleweight title in 2001.

Hilton said he’s angry at a lot of things including the justice system, his failed marriage and “the mistakes I made.”

“I was married 16 years and the only happy times I had with my ex-wife was the first two years, after that it was all misery and arguments on both sides.”

Hilton said he was still feeling “a little bit screwed up” after being released from prison.

“I’m happy I’m out of jail, it feels bizarre being in jail and being in prison for five years and then coming out into the streets.

“It’s a little strange, a little paranoid, I’m watching the cars going by. .life is fast,” he said.

“Everyone has their opinion, I know what happened,” Hilton added.

Jean-Yves Roy, a spokesman for the Correctional Service of Canada, said Hilton was taken to a halfway house but he couldn’t say where.

“It’s not information that we’re authorized to release,” Roy said.

Hilton was freed on Monday after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

Roy said Hilton, who could be at the halfway house until 2009, will have to respect the conditions of his parole or he faces a return to prison.

“We will see if there are any significant gains in his behaviour so that the decision can be revised by the National Parole Board,” said Roy.

He said Hilton’s behaviour will be reviewed regularly.

“He will remain under the surveillance of Correctional Service of Canada until the end of his sentence which is Jan.8, 2009. .there is no fixed length of time for the residency conditions, so this can be re-evaluated in the future,” said Roy.

A spokeswoman for the daughters, who are believed to be living in the United States, said the daughters would have no comment on Hilton’s release.

In 2003, Hilton was given an eight-month sentence, to be served consecutively, for refusing to provide a breathalyzer and failing to attend court. Those charges dated back to 1997.

Hilton said he did “a bit of training” in prison but doesn’t know if he wants to get in shape to resume his boxing career.