Marcellus Jacob, a 24-year-old Whitehorse man who committed a horrifically violent attack against a local woman in 2001, has been denied parole.

Debra Kihara of the National Parole Board confirmed Thursday afternoon the board has denied Jacob the right to day parole and full parole.

The board will no longer consider any further parole reviews, given that Jacob's statutory release at the completion of two thirds of his sentence is scheduled for October 2006, she explained from her Abbotsford, B.C. office.

Kihara said in cases where offenders have fewer than two years to serve before their statutory release, the board does not hold any reviews unless the offender brings forward an application.

But there must be something significantly new to present to the parole board before it will grant the applicant's request for another review, she explained.

The victim of what was described by the sentencing judge as a horrifically violent and brutal sexual assault made a public plea this week for members of the community to write the board and voice their objections to any early release of Jacob.

A court order prevents publication of the victim's name.

Kihara said as a matter of policy, she could not discuss what correspondence the board received and considered in its deliberations.

Nor could she discuss the issue of treatment taken or rejected by the offender. However, she noted the written decision of the board is available on request, and if treatment was discussed, the matter will be included in the written decision.

Three years ago, then-territorial court judge Barry Stuart warned Jacob that if he did not actively seek and embrace treatment and counselling to address his obvious personal problems, he would not be welcomed back to the community. He attacked the woman in July 2001.

If Jacob did not seek treatment, the judge said, it would be his recommendation that he serve the full seven years in prison.

Jacob was sentenced to seven years, in addition to the six months he served awaiting trial, which was credited as double time, amounting to what is on record as an eight-year sentence.

Evidence before the court showed that Jacob broke into the woman's house while she slept and raped and tortured her at knife-point for five hours.

In her written submission to the board, the victim wrote:

'How I wish that I had the means to simply move away to some obscure place where he could never track me down. Only then could I really begin to heal.

'I, for one, am convinced that he could never be less than a major safety risk, a life-threatening ticking time bomb that will find yet another victim.'

To release Jacob, she wrote, would be the ultimate evidence that it is the victims of crime whose needs are largely ignored by the justice system.

Thursday's review was the first despite Jacob being eligible to apply for unescorted, temporary absences in April 2003, day parole in December 2003 and full parole in June 2004.

The law says he must be released after two thirds of his sentence in October 2006. However, there is a provision to force an inmate to serve the full sentence, Kihara explained.

She said the Correctional Services of Canada could ask the parole board to waive the statutory release and force the offender to stay in prison if it feels he remains a danger of causing serious harm or death prior to the end of his full sentence.

NDP Leader Todd Hardy said Thursday he forwarded a letter to the board yesterday asking that Jacob not be released unless it was convinced he was no longer a threat to the community.

The horrendous assault must not be forgotten, said Hardy. The victim remains terrified, he stressed, and still suffers from post-traumatic syndrome disorder.

Obviously, the parole board felt Jacob did not make any significant progress to address the problems he faces, said the leader of the Opposition.

Hardy said he started assisting the victim when she began feeling the Yukon government was not providing the support she needed to move on.

In his judgment of three years ago, Stuart criticized the system for permitting Jacob to become who he was, despite warnings of problems that surfaced as soon as his early childhood.