Mohamed Jelassi

Sentencing decision following convictions for gang sexual assault of an unconscious complainant captured on surveillance video, together with related breach offences.

The court held that denunciation and general deterrence were paramount given the planned, degrading, prolonged sexual violence against a highly vulnerable victim, the joint participation of multiple offenders, and the offenders' extensive criminal records.

The court rejected submissions for substantially lower sentences, found almost no mitigating factors beyond harsh pre-sentence custody conditions and limited personal circumstances, and imposed nine-year penitentiary terms for the gang sexual assault count.

Consecutive sentences were added for the breach offences, yielding total terms of 10 years for one offender and 10 years and 6 months for the other, less Summers credit.

The accused, diagnosed with schizophrenia, appeared before the Ontario Review Board for a mandatory review of his disposition.

He was previously found unfit to stand trial on charges including criminal harassment and uttering threats.

Applying the fitness test from R. v. Bharwani, the Board found that the accused's ongoing delusions and thought disorder prevented him from making reality-based decisions or communicating effectively with counsel.

The Board concluded he remains unfit to stand trial and poses a significant threat to public safety.

His detention order at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care was maintained, with expanded community pass privileges and a non-communication order regarding the complainants, pending his transfer to CAMH.