Dr. Pallandi

The appellant, found not criminally responsible (NCR) for past offences, appealed a disposition by the Ontario Review Board that ordered his detention at a forensic mental health facility with community privileges, rather than granting his request for a conditional discharge.

The Board denied the conditional discharge due to public safety concerns, emphasizing the need for swift intervention in case of mental state decompensation, despite the appellant's recent stability.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the Board's decision reasonable.

The court deferred to the Board's expert opinion, supported by the appellant's psychiatrist, that a detention order was necessary to ensure public protection by allowing intervention before the criteria for involuntary admission under the Mental Health Act were met, which conditional discharge mechanisms might not adequately provide.

The appellant, D.M., appealed his dangerous offender designation and indeterminate sentence, which followed convictions for sexual assault and child pornography.

The Crown conceded that the sentencing judge erred by not explicitly considering the appellant's future treatment prospects at the designation stage, as required by R. v. Boutilier.

However, the Court of Appeal found this error to be harmless, concluding that the overwhelming evidence, including consistent psychiatric opinions on the appellant's high risk of sexual recidivism and his lack of credibility regarding amenability to treatment, compelled the dangerous offender designation and indeterminate sentence.

An application to admit fresh evidence was also dismissed as it would not have altered the outcome.

The appeal was dismissed.

This appeal concerned the capacity of Paul Tanti to enter into a marriage with Sharon Joseph.

Raymond Tanti, Paul's son, appealed the trial judge's decision that the marriage was valid, arguing his father lacked the requisite capacity.

The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial judge's findings, holding that the correct legal test for marriage capacity was applied, which requires understanding the nature of the marriage contract and its duties.

The court found no palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's assessment of evidence, including the discounting of non-contemporaneous expert opinions and the reliance on direct lay witness testimony.

The appeal was dismissed, upholding the validity of the marriage.

The Crown sought an indeterminate sentence for the respondent's breach of a Long Term Supervision Order (LTSO) imposed following a dangerous offender designation.

The respondent opposed the application and sought a time-served sentence.

The court rejected the Crown's application for an indeterminate sentence, finding that the respondent's risk to public safety could be managed in the community with appropriate conditions and treatment engagement.

However, the court imposed a custodial sentence of 34 months, accounting for the serious nature of the breach, the respondent's pattern of non-compliance, and his recent positive steps toward rehabilitation.

The offender pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault involving minors.

The offences occurred over an extended period and involved multiple victims who were under the offender's authority as a coach and mentor.

The court imposed a custodial sentence of 10 months for one count, 8 months as a conditional sentence for another count, and 5 months for the third count, all to be served consecutively.

The court emphasized that denunciation and deterrence were paramount given the breach of trust, grooming behaviour, and vulnerability of the victims.

The offender was also subject to DNA sampling, sex offender registration for 20 years, a 2-year probation order with conditions including sex offender counselling, and a 10-year weapons prohibition.