L. Muller

The accused, charged with attempted child abduction, assault, and forcible confinement, brought a bail review application seeking to vacate the strict conditions of his consent release.

The Crown opposed the application, citing the accused's mental health issues and risk of reoffending.

The Superior Court of Justice found a material change in circumstances due to the filing of a direct indictment, the passage of 28 months without breaches, and police evidence suggesting mistaken identity in one of the incidents.

Applying the ladder principle, the court allowed the application in part, deleting the strict house arrest condition while maintaining the other protective terms.

The accused applied for a bail review following a detention order based on the tertiary ground.

The accused proposed a release plan involving house arrest with his parents as sureties and electronic monitoring.

The court found that the combination of the electronic monitoring proposal and the COVID-19 pandemic constituted a material change in circumstances.

The court concluded that a reasonably informed member of the public would not lose confidence in the justice system if the accused were released under strict conditions during a global health crisis, and granted the application for release.