Repeat offender with 1970s robberies and a 1986 rape gets parole though victim would be 'fearful'

Gov. Abigail Spanberger's parole board has voted to release Dennis Rodney Harold, convicted of abduction, rape and sodomy, with earlier robbery and abduction convictions in Richmond, according to the board's own August 2026 decisions report.

The board's August report lists Harold, 75, the oldest person granted parole this month, under "Dual Eligibility"; the minutes say he was considered for geriatric conditional release. The decision was recorded Aug. 28 and certified Aug. 31. His most serious sentences come from Richmond Circuit Court judgments in September 1986: 50 years for abduction, 10 years for rape, 10 years for sodomy and, in a separate judgment, four years for abduction. The report estimates he has served 49 years, 6 months and 11 days, the longest of anyone granted in August.

This newsroom did not find contemporaneous news coverage or a court opinion describing the facts of the 1986 Richmond case or the earlier Norfolk cases. The account here is limited to the board's record. The victim is not named, consistent with this publication's policy on sexual offenses.

The rest of the record: Harold's record shows a long run of earlier convictions. Norfolk Circuit Court judgments list robbery in November 1971; abduction and robbery in January 1972; and abduction, robbery and attempted kidnapping in October 1974, with sentences of five to 25 years. A Richmond Circuit Court judgment from May 1975 lists a recidivist conviction. The board's record does not explain how the 1986 offenses relate to the time he was serving on the earlier sentences.

Why the board says he should go free: The board's listed reasons were clear acceptance of responsibility, the prosecuting attorney's support for release, a low risk-assessment score, demonstrated rehabilitation, participation in correctional and vocational programs, a severe long-term disability that limits daily functioning, a medical condition, insight into the factors behind his crimes and infraction-free conduct.

According to the Aug. 27 minutes, the board's Victim Services Team reported that the victim "is unable to form a position regarding parole" but "would be fearful if they encountered Mr. Harold in the community." The vote was 5-0. Chair Shannon Dion cited "the support of two Commonwealth's Attorneys." Members described his infraction-free record differently: one said 24 years, another said since 2022. (The August PDF's vote table lists Vice Chair Brothers Hayes twice and omits Board Member Boykin; the minutes show all five voting to grant.)

To be fair to the board, every reason quoted above comes from its own record, and members explained their votes on the record at the Aug. 27 meeting. The question for voters is whether those reasons outweigh what the court ordered and what victims told the board.

What the numbers say about Richmond: Violent crime in Richmond has improved over the past decade, according to the state's own figures. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, using Virginia State Police data, reported 436.9 violent index crimes per 100,000 residents in Richmond in 2025, against 574.7 in 2016, down 24%. Property crime stood at 3,287.3 per 100,000 in 2025, down 9% from 3,611.8 in 2016. For comparison, the statewide violent crime rate was 210.5 per 100,000 in 2025, and the median Virginia locality came in at 172.9, according to the August 2026 DCJS report. DCJS cautions that the figures are subject to revision.

This is what Democratic control of the parole board looks like. Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, appointed every one of the five members who voted in August, replacing the board she inherited, and the Democratic-led General Assembly confirmed them in Senate Joint Resolution 209 in March. Her chair, Shannon Dion, was previously named director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. Board member Tyrone Nelson has run for the Henrico Board of Supervisors as a Democrat. Under Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the board granted parole at a rate of about 1.6% in 2023, according to Bolts magazine. In August alone, Spanberger's board granted 14 of the 44 parole cases it decided, about 32%, according to its own monthly report. Statewide, a Washington Examiner analysis found Spanberger's board had a 13.89% release rate in 2026, more than 10 times the 1.23% rate under Youngkin's board in 2025, and WJLA 7News counted 48 grants in 205 discretionary and geriatric cases since May, about 23%. None of that means the governor personally ordered any individual release; the board votes, and the record shows how each member voted. But the governor picks the board, and the board answers to her: by law its members serve at the governor's pleasure.

Parole is not the end of a sentence. The board can revoke it, and in August it did revoke parole in three cases, while letting six other violators stay on the street. The board's report does not say when Harold will walk out or where he will live, questions Richmond residents are entitled to ask.

Email the Richmond City Council:
Andrew Breton, andrew.breton@rva.gov,
Katherine Jordan, katherine.jordan@rva.gov,
Kenya Gibson, kenya.gibson@rva.gov,
Sarah Abubaker, sarah.abubaker@rva.gov,
Stephanie Lynch, stephanie.lynch@rva.gov,
Ellen Robertson, ellen.robertson@rva.gov,
Cynthia Newbille, cynthia.newbille@rva.gov,
Reva Trammell, reva.trammell@rva.gov,
Nicole Jones, nicole.jones@rva.gov,

Email the Norfolk Board/Council:
Kenneth Alexander, mayor@norfolk.gov,
Martin Thomas, martin.thomas@norfolk.gov,
Courtney Doyle, courtney.doyle@norfolk.gov,
Mamie Johnson, mamie.johnson@norfolk.gov,
John Paige, john.paige@norfolk.gov,
Thomas Smigiel, thomas.smigiel@norfolk.gov,
Jeremy McGee, jeremy.mcgee@norfolk.gov,
Carlos Clanton, carlos.clanton@norfolk.gov,

Email the Richmond City Council:
Andrew Breton, andrew.breton@rva.gov,
Katherine Jordan, katherine.jordan@rva.gov,
Kenya Gibson, kenya.gibson@rva.gov,
Sarah Abubaker, sarah.abubaker@rva.gov,
Stephanie Lynch, stephanie.lynch@rva.gov,
Ellen Robertson, ellen.robertson@rva.gov,
Cynthia Newbille, cynthia.newbille@rva.gov,
Reva Trammell, reva.trammell@rva.gov,
Nicole Jones, nicole.jones@rva.gov,

Richmond is an independent city in the Richmond region.

Norfolk is an independent city in Hampton Roads.

Email the Norfolk Board/Council:
Kenneth Alexander, mayor@norfolk.gov,
Martin Thomas, martin.thomas@norfolk.gov,
Courtney Doyle, courtney.doyle@norfolk.gov,
Mamie Johnson, mamie.johnson@norfolk.gov,
John Paige, john.paige@norfolk.gov,
Thomas Smigiel, thomas.smigiel@norfolk.gov,
Jeremy McGee, jeremy.mcgee@norfolk.gov,
Carlos Clanton, carlos.clanton@norfolk.gov,