BC

It will likely be the new year before a court holds a dangerous offender hearing for admitted child abductor Randall Hopley.

Hopley, who is 47, appeared before a BC Supreme Court justice via video conference Monday but had the matter adjourned until Nov. 19.

Hopley abducted three-year-old Kienan Hebert from his home in Sparwood, last September, only to return him unharmed four days later.

He pleaded guilty to breaking into the Hebert family's home in the middle of the night last September before taking the boy to a cabin at a nearby bible camp.

Hopley was later arrested at the camp.

Hopley has insisted he never harmed or sexually assaulted the boy, and the Crown has presented no evidence that he did.

In August, BC Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes ordered a 60-day assessment to determine whether Hopley should be labelled a dangerous or long-term offender.

However, the assessment still isn't completed, according to Hopley's lawyer William Thorne.

He was unsure whether the examination would be completed by next month but said an actual dangerous or long-term offender hearing is a long way off.

"I would say January at the absolute earliest but I think that is being optimistic," he told The Canadian Press.

Hopley has been in custody since his arrest and is being kept in protective custody.