ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE

DATE: 2026 02 24

COURT FILE No.: Toronto 4810 998 24 48117137

BETWEEN:

HIS MAJESTY THE KING

— AND —

ROBERT STEPHENS

Before Justice André Chamberlain

Heard on September 2, 2025, and February 3, 2026

Reasons for Sentence read into record on February 19, 2026

Released on February 24, 2026

Constantinos Stratos........................................................................ counsel for the Crown

Chris Murphy.................................................. counsel for the accused Robert Stephens

Chamberlain J.:

[ 1 ] Following his guilty plea to a charge of assault causing bodily harm in September of 2025, Robert Stephens was ordered to undergo an assessment under section 21 of the Mental Health Act to assist me in determining the appropriate sentence. There is no denying that the facts of this case are troubling: a vicious assault by two drunken men on a good Samaritan who tried to protect a fellow passenger on the Toronto Transit, when she was being harassed by the two perpetrators, one of whom was Robert Stephens. The injuries to the victim were significant.

Facts on the Plea

[ 2 ] On Tuesday, May 21st, 2024, around 5:50 p.m., Robert Stephens was with an unidentified suspect at a temporary bus bay at Kennedy Subway Station in Toronto. During the subway ride, both the accused and the known suspect were seen drinking and appeared intoxicated. At the bus bay, they allegedly verbally harassed and touched an unidentified female waiting for the bus.

[ 3 ] Nahian Ibne Monir, the victim, saw the harassment and approached the woman to offer reassurance. He then looked at the two men, prompting one of them to challenge him verbally; he responded with a smile. When one of the men told Mr. Ibne Monir to "come here," he approached, believing they only wanted to talk.

[ 4 ] Robert Stephens and the unknown male began punching and kicking Nahian Ibne Monir, causing him to fall. The two continued to assault Mr. Ibne Monir for about 2-3 minutes, after which they took his backpack and fled northbound toward Eglinton Avenue East. A witness who filmed a portion of the robbery then went to assist Nahian Ibne Monir

[ 5 ] Nahian Ibne Monir was transported to Scarborough General Hospital for medical treatment, where he was diagnosed with a broken elbow and had some bruising to his face. Mr. Ibne Monir reported that a significant amount of cash had been stolen from his backpack, but did not provide any proof of the amount.

[ 6 ] Robert Stephens was later identified as one of the assailants and was arrested at his home in London, Ontario.

Victim Impact Statement

[ 7 ] Nahian Ibne Monir recounts his fear of being out in public and the negative effect this attack has had on his relationships with friends and family. He dropped out of a school semester because of the emotional challenges of the violence. He has required surgery and physiotherapy for the broken elbow he suffered in the attack. He fears he may have more limited movement and suffer longer-term pain as a result. Clearly, the emotional and physical impact of this attack will be felt by Mr. Ibne Monir for some time.

Background of Robert Stephens

[ 8 ] Robert Stephens is 31 years old. He has an 11-year-old daughter, Brooke, with a former partner. He sees her a couple of times a week when he takes the bus to Toronto to spend time with her. He reports that he has a good relationship with her and continues to pay child support.

[ 9 ] Despite some struggles as a child and teen, he earned his high school diploma and attended George Brown College for woodworking and carpentry. He joined a union in 2015 and continued his education as an ironworker and journeyman, a four-year process. In 2018, he transferred unions and became a ‘form setter.’ Then in 2023, he moved back home to London to help take care of his ailing father, who passed away in March 2025. It appears that the state of his father’s health and ultimate passing was the trigger for a few crisis incidents that ultimately led to these charges.

[ 10 ] Robert Stephens has had a complicated history of trauma and violence and continues to struggle with some lasting features of that past. He and his older sister, his half-sister on his mother’s side, were adopted as young children by his parents, who were nearly 50 years old when they adopted them both. Mr. Stephens was born to young parents, and both struggled with a serious addiction to alcohol and cocaine. Even though his family received a diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), the assessment from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) I ordered was unable to confirm the diagnosis because the birth mother's prenatal alcohol use was not confirmed.

[ 11 ] However, they noted that the current diagnosis of substance use disorder is related to cocaine, alcohol, and possibly opiates as well. They also suspected post-traumatic stress disorder based on the various traumas he has suffered as a child and an adult.

[ 12 ] Although the full history of his experience with his birth family is scarce, it can be assumed that his biological parents’ struggles with addiction led to his and his older sister’s living in an unsafe home, which led to their being in care and ultimately adopted by their current family.

[ 13 ] As is often the case with children who appear to be struggling with FASD and have been subject to childhood trauma, I have no doubt that Mr. Stephens was a handful and would have been for any parent. Without getting into specific details, Robert Stephens reported that this adoptive home was also a source of violence and strife. It sounds as though his parents were not equipped to manage their very high needs child.

[ 14 ] Mr. Stephens struggled in school, had behavioural issues and was sent to a wilderness boarding school from grades 10 to 12. He began to run away from home at the age of 12, due to the physical abuse at home. He also began using alcohol and other substances at this time, beginning a pattern of substance abuse.

[ 15 ] Despite challenges in family relationships, past and ongoing trauma, and troubled relationships at home and at school, Mr. Stephens has maintained a good work history, holding various part-time jobs throughout his schooling and in the trades since his graduation. He has continued his education and developed new skills in the trades, enabling him to care for himself and his daughter.

[ 16 ] It is obvious that the events of the past 2 to 3 years have sent Robert Stephens into a troubling crisis, driven in no small part by the illness and death of his father, a man with whom he had a very challenging relationship. He was adopted by a couple of older professional adults with good intentions to provide a good home to these needy children.

[ 17 ] But as previously stated, they were not equipped to manage the high needs of a child who has been through significant trauma, and who may well have been dealing with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It also sounds like their own substance use issues and lack of coping skills led to chaos and violence in the home, and as reported by Robert Stephens, required the involvement of child protection services on more than one occasion.

[ 18 ] I want to make one thing very clear: I am not excusing the specific actions of his parents for their behaviour that might seem to have been abusive and inappropriate in response to a needy and troubled child. Nor am I blaming Robert Stephens for the troubled past he had to carry. He did not ask to be born in a family that was dealing with substance use issues, leading to his having been influenced in utero by alcohol and cocaine. Those needs should have been identified early in his life, and his family should have been better prepared to provide him with the support and services he needed to cope with these challenges. That was a failing of the adoption services and agencies that placed him.

The Position of the Parties

[ 19 ] The Crown argues that, considering the significant amount of violence against a good Samaritan who was trying to assist a woman who was being harassed on the TTC, the need for deterrence and denunciation is primary, and I should impose a sentence of 6 to 9 months in jail, followed by 3 years of probation.

[ 20 ] His counsel points to Robert Stephens’ tragic background and significant mental health challenges, his minimal and unrelated criminal record as a basis for me to impose a conditional sentence of 15 months with a 10-month house arrest with a focus on counselling and rehabilitation.

The Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances

[ 21 ] The Criminal Code of Canada at section 718.2 , states:

A court that imposes a sentence shall also take into consideration the following principles:

(a) a sentence should be increased or reduced to account for any relevant aggravating or mitigating circumstances relating to the offence or the offender

[ 22 ] The aggravating and mitigating factors cover elements of Robert Stephens’ background, the nature of his crimes, the timing of his guilty plea, and any other evidence presented at this sentencing hearing. This also includes legal guidance from the Criminal Code and directives from higher courts regarding specific aspects of this case that I need to consider. Some of the aggravating circumstances include:

(1) This was an act of significant violence perpetrated by two strangers on a man who was being a good Samaritan.

(2) A short clip entered as Exhibit 2 shows only a few seconds of the attack and depicts the victim on the ground with his shirt being pulled over his head while Mr. Stephens and his unknown accomplice punch and kick him. Mr. Murphy argues that the unknown accomplice appears to be the more violent of the two perpetrators, but I note that the video clip captures only a brief part of the interaction.

(3) The injuries suffered by Nahian Ibne Monir were serious enough to require surgery for a broken elbow, and he continues to experience pain and limited mobility, requiring ongoing physiotherapy. He also missed some school, and it has affected his family and social relationships.

(4) That they stole his backpack after the attack is a further insult and injury to Mr. Ibne Monir. Though he claims a significant amount of money was in his backpack at the time, no proof of the amount was ever provided to the Crown.

(5) Mr. Stephens is currently facing an outstanding charge of assault, and though he has not been convicted and is of limited weight, it does raise some concerns about compliance with a sentence to be served in the community.

(6) Robert Stephens has a minor and mostly unrelated record, though the one entry of failing to comply with a release order in the domestic violence context is concerning.

[ 23 ] In mitigation:

(1) That he pled guilty indicates he is remorseful for his actions and is taking responsibility, and, further, that he is saving the courts and the victim in this case from having to testify at trial.

(2) Robert Stephens was in his late twenties at the time of these offences, and his involvement in the criminal justice system was not significant.

(3) Mr. Stephens benefits from a supportive community, as evidenced by numerous letters of support.

(4) He has the benefit of a stable home in London, Ontario, living with his mother, who has provided some support. He has since moved in with a new domestic partner in Toronto and is ready to return to work with him former iron workers’ union and is just waiting for the call to go.

(5) His difficult childhood, marked by being born to a mother who was addicted to alcohol and cocaine, has left him struggling with challenges like, if not specifically, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Whether or not the diagnosis is confirmed, his history shows clear signs that are known to impact a diagnosis of FASD, even though it is unconfirmed in his case. They include struggles with academic achievement, cognition, memory, attention, executive function (including impulse control and hyperactivity), affect regulation, adaptive behaviour, social skills, or social communication.

(6) He has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

(7) He has also been diagnosed with substance use disorder for alcohol and cocaine, and very possibly opiates. All of these challenges reduce his moral culpability and must be factored into an appropriate sentence.

(8) Despite these major challenges, he has, for the most part, maintained and achieved significant success working in the trades, learning new skills and has a positive work history.

The Law

[ 24 ] The primary purpose of any sentence is to protect society and promote respect for the law, enabling all of us to live in fair, peaceful, and safe communities. Sanctions must align with the objectives and principles set out in the Criminal Code , including condemning illegal behaviour and the harm it causes; discouraging the offender and others from committing offences; removing individuals from the community when necessary; rehabilitating offenders; providing reparations for harm done to victims or the community; and encouraging a sense of responsibility and recognition of the harm one's actions may cause. These are set out in ss. 718 and 718.2.

[ 25 ] In cases of violence with injuries suffered by the victim, as has happened in this case, deterrence and denunciation must be a primary factor to consider. But it is also clear that in cases where mental health challenges have been part of the driver in the offences, “…general deterrence is a factor of decreased significance when sentencing those whose behaviour is driven by mental illness. As explained by Gillese J.A. in R. v. Batisse , 2009 ONCA 114 , 93 O.R. (3d) 643, at para. 38 , when “mental health problems play a central role in the commission of the offence … deterrence and punishment assume less importance.” R. v. Dedeckere , 2017 ONCA 799

[ 26 ] Specific deterrence is less of a feature for mentally ill offenders – R. v. Robinson (1974), 19 CCC (2d) 193, at 197.

[ 27 ] In consideration of his plea, his tragic background, and ongoing challenges with mental health, the other mitigating circumstances enumerated above, and while being acutely aware of the need to send a message to Robert Stephens about the seriousness of these offences and their impact on the community, I do find that a conditional sentence can send that message, with a longer period of house arrest, beyond what is generally done in cases of conditional sentences.

[ 28 ] Mr. Stephens’ prospects for rehabilitation are promising, his limited criminal record, employment history, and strong community support offer hope. But it won’t be easy, and he will have to work hard on his issues and recovery.

[ 29 ] A conditional sentence, with longer periods of house arrest while allowing exceptions for employment, education, counselling, and visits with his daughter, can address deterrence and denunciation.

[ 30 ] Deterrence and denunciation are the primary factors to consider, but the Supreme Court of Canada dealt with the parameters and analysis of the imposition of a conditional sentence order in R. v. Proulx , 2000 SCC 5, [2000] 1 S.C.R. 61 . Specifically, at para. 22:

22 The conditional sentence incorporates some elements of non-custodial measures and some others of incarceration. Because it is served in the community, it will generally be more effective than incarceration at achieving the restorative objectives of rehabilitation, reparations to the victim and community, and the promotion of a sense of responsibility in the offender. However, it is also a punitive sanction capable of achieving the objectives of denunciation and deterrence . . . . [Emphasis added]

[ 31 ] I will therefore impose a sentence of 18 months, with the first 8 months on house arrest, during which a GPS ankle monitor will be installed by Recovery Science. Other terms and exceptions to the house arrest will be determined. The following 5 months will be on curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., with exceptions to be determined, and the last 5 months will be under statutory terms. There will also be no-contact orders and counselling provisions, as specifically noted in the section 21 assessment report. This will be followed by a 3-year probationary term.

[ 32 ] There will also be a DNA order, which is primary in the circumstances.

Released: February 24, 2026

Signed: Justice André Chamberlain