Sex offender Stephen Hopkins deemed high risk to reoffend, doctor says

A man twice convicted of sexual assault on women in metro St. John's — who's facing the possibility of being jailed permanently — now has the chance to defend himself after a psychiatric assessment deemed him at high risk to reoffend.

Stephen Hopkins was found guilty of breaking into a Cowan Heights home in 2020 and sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

But prosecutors halted the trial before his sentencing by applying to have Hopkins deemed a dangerous offender, which could see him imprisoned indefinitely.

"This is just about the most serious matter you can have in the criminal system," said John Brooks, the amicus — or advisor — for Hopkins, on Tuesday, just as the Crown wrapped up its evidence.

Hopkins represented himself over the course of the Cowan Heights sex assault case and continues to decline a lawyer.

Under the threat of a dangerous offender designation, he now must decide whether to call witnesses who can testify to his mental health or character. He also has the option to take the stand himself, in his own defence.

Hopkins was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation as part of the dangerous offender application. He spent several weeks at the Waterford Hospital in St. John's in 2022 under the watch of Dr. Jasbir Gill.

Gill told the court Monday she believes Hopkins has a high risk of reoffending, due largely to his deeply ingrained beliefs about women. She testified he said women owe him sex and that he had the right to sexual gratification because he pays his taxes.

It was striking, Gill continued, that Hopkins could not stop himself from making sexual comments toward staff while undergoing his assessment, as people in his situation generally are on their best behaviour.

Hopkins has also refused medication to control his sex drive, would not take antipsychotics and has not participated in any programming, said Gill, noting he showed no motivation to change his behaviour. 

He did not meet the criteria for psychopathy, but displays some traits of the disorder, she said.

Hopkins is listed in the sex offender registry, having been placed there for a decade after he was convicted of attacking two women on Long Pond trail in St. John's in 2019.

A year later, he forced his way into a Cowan Heights home after asking a teenager for a glass of water. He carried her upstairs to a bedroom and assaulted her before fleeing. The judge who presided over Hopkins' conviction for that assault roundly condemned his testimony, writing that he didn't believe a word of Hopkins's testimony besides the fact he was on the girl's street at the time of the attack.

Hopkins had argued the girl had fabricated the story and he was arrested as a result of a police vendetta against him.