Angus Kerr McLeod

Following a guilty plea to aggravated assault, the Crown brought a dangerous offender application under Part XXIV of the Criminal Code.

The court considered expert psychiatric evidence indicating the offender posed a moderate to high risk of violent and sexual recidivism due to coercive sexual preference, substance dependence, and mixed personality disorder.

While the statutory criteria for dangerous offender designation under s. 753(1) were met, the offender rebutted the presumption of an indeterminate sentence by demonstrating that a determinate sentence combined with intensive treatment and long‑term supervision could adequately protect the public.

The court accepted the joint submission that a fixed penitentiary sentence coupled with a Long‑Term Supervision Order would manage the risk.

The offender was designated a dangerous offender and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment followed by a ten‑year Long‑Term Supervision Order.

The offender pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, production of marijuana, and possession of brass knuckles.

Police executing a search warrant discovered 451 marijuana plants, seeds, and sophisticated growing equipment in the offender’s residence.

The offender had a prior conviction for marijuana production and had previously received a conditional sentence.

The court held that the scale of the operation, the residential setting, the presence of a weapon, and the offender’s prior similar conviction required a custodial sentence to achieve denunciation and deterrence.

A conditional sentence was rejected as inappropriate given the recidivist conduct.