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Ontario man hospitalized for sexually assaulting and choking 'close female relative' no longer considered a risk
A Toronto man found not criminal responsible for repeatedly sexually assaulting a “close female relative” over the course of seven months and assaulting and choking her while saying “I want to kill you,” has been granted an absolute discharge by the Ontario Review Board (ORB).
The man, identified only by his initials in a recent ORB decision, has also assaulted his father, a cab driver, and sexually assaulted “many others (up to 20, including a vulnerable elderly male patient at a forensic hospital)” as well as molesting children when he was six to nine years old, said the July 2 decision from the independent tribunal that regularly reviews the status of individuals found not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
“In this case, the board cannot identify a real, significant risk of physical, or psychological, harm to members of the public that goes beyond the merely trivial or annoying,” said the decision.
The board agreed with the man’s psychiatrist that he “no longer requires the support of the forensic team” at the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care, in St. Thomas, Ont., or “the oversight of the board to manage his risk of harm to the community,”
The man — who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, a mild intellectual disability, social anxiety disorder, and cannabis use disorder — was 21 when he was found not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder in November 2017 on charges including assault, uttering threats, sexual assault, and attempting to choke or strangle.
“The threshold for finding that an NCR accused poses a significant threat to the safety of the public is onerous,” said the ORB.
“Upon a careful consideration of all the evidence and submissions of the parties, the board is unable to find that (he) is a significant threat to the safety of the public.”
That means he “must be absolutely discharged. The panel wishes him well in the future.”
The board heard that the man sexually assaulted “a close female relative” in Toronto on March 15, 2016, when he and the victim were at home alone.
“The accused approached her from behind and grabbed her buttocks from below, with one hand. The accused then reached around the victim with his other hand and proceeded to reach behind beneath her pants and grab her vagina,” said the decision.
“The victim was able to push the accused away from her at which time he pushed her up against the cupboards and punched her in the face.”
The man put his hands around the woman’s “neck and began to squeeze,” said the decision. “The accused picked the victim up off the floor and the victim found it difficult to breathe. The victim eventually managed to escape the accused’s grasp and yell for help.”
Another tenant in the building heard her and called police, who took the attacker to hospital.
The woman later “revealed that the sexual assaults began in September 2015. The accused began grabbing at her breasts, tried to aggressively kiss her, and grab at her buttocks and vagina. The accused also at one point jumped on top of the victim and tried to pull his pants down in order to have intercourse with her as she lay on the couch in the living room.”
She described another sexual assault where he “tried to pull her face toward his exposed penis in attempts to force her to perform fellatio,” said the decision. “The accused grabbed the victim by the head and pulled her toward his groin. The victim was able to escape his grasp and lock herself in the washroom.”
In May 2017, while the man was released on a promise to stay away from his victim, he attacked her again, said the decision. He choked the woman “with such force that she felt that she could not breathe. He also twisted her arms outwards in a display of strength; eventually she was able to release herself from his grip.”
Two days later, he walked behind the woman while she was on the porch “grabbed her by the shoulders with both hands from behind, shook her violently and pushed her through the open door back into the house,” said the decision.
He choked her and twisted her arms again the next day, while saying, “I want to kill you,” said the decision.
The man has “completed Grade 9 but did not go further,” said the decision, which notes he’s been financially supported since 2013 by the Ontario Disability Support Program.
He “reported that he used marijuana daily since age 14” and that “he had not been involved in therapeutic addiction programs.”
He was admitted to hospital after his NCR verdict.
“He was administered clozapine shortly after his admission. The dose of clozapine was gradually increased because he continued to experience active symptoms of psychosis, including responding to unseen stimuli. Nevertheless, since his admission to the hospital in 2017, there have been no reported incidents of sexually assaultive behaviour, preoccupations, violence, aggressive or impulsive behaviours.”
His “sexual behaviours and offences are likely linked to his underlying psychotic disorder, coupled with poor intellectual functioning and early exposure to sexual material and behaviours,” said the decision.
“Given his limited cognitive capacity, it is likely that (he) had difficulty understanding the nature of sex and sexual relationships with others, furthered by the fact that this began at a young age.”
Since February 2022, he’s lived at a group home that’s supervised around the clock, said the decision.
“He has managed very well in this environment, which is quiet as the home has only a small number of residents (less than 10) and he has a private bedroom.”
He “socializes well,” and engages “appropriately with both the group home staff and other residents,” said the decision, noting he’s described as “cooperative, pleasant and friendly.”
His drug tests have all been negative, said the decision. “He has remained abstinent since 2017 and has no plans to engage in substance use, despite his exposure to substance use by members of his family.”
The man “values his family,” and “is acutely aware” of his victim’s identity, said the decision, which notes he “does not want to return to experiencing the symptoms of mental illness. He is internally motivated to keep well and safe.”
He likes living in his current group home, it said. “Although he wishes he could live independently, he has no plans to do so.”
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