Ontario Review Board
Re: Jesse A. Mooney
ORB File No: 7618/8026
Hearing held on: Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Place of Hearing: Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. P. Capelle
Members: Dr. W. Sutton
Dr. S. Lessard
Ms. M. Labrosse
Mr. A. Bouvier
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Jesse A. Mooney
Counsel: Mr. J. Boss
Person in charge of hospital: Representative Dr. F. Wood
Attorney-General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. J. Wright
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated September 24, 2025)
Introduction
On October 16, 2019, the accused, Jesse A. Mooney, was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on charges of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.
On February 9, 2022, Mr. Mooney was again found not criminally responsible on charges of uttering threats of death or bodily harm.
Mr. Mooney is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated September 17, 2024, which detains him at the secure forensic of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre with privileges up to and including community living in approved accommodation.
On August 19, 2025, the Ontario Review Board convened a hearing at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, hereinafter referred to as the hospital, to conduct the annual review of Mr. Mooney’s disposition pursuant to s, 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Mooney attended his hearing and was represented by his counsel, Mr. Johnathon Boss.
The issues for this hearing are whether Mr. Mooney continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and, if so, to determine the disposition that is necessary and appropriate in the circumstances.
For the reasons set out below, the Board finds that Mr. Mooney continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the maintenance of the current detention order, on the same terms and conditions, remains the necessary and appropriate and least onerous and least restrictive disposition in all of the circumstances.
Index Offences
- The circumstances of the index offences are described as follows in the hospital report:
File 7618
“On June 17, 2019, Mr. Mooney called Dr. Kitts, as he was aware that he was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Ottawa Hospital, and he hoped that he would be able to talk to the nurses and tell them not to play with his blood. He acknowledged that he repeatedly called Dr. Kitts, and that Dr. Kitts likely became “freaked out” but nobody was picking up the phone. Mr. Mooney was leaving messages with Dr. Kitts and expressed his concerns while also calling the police on numerous occasions. Mr. Mooney acknowledged that he “flipped out” at Dr. Kitts, where he became frustrated and said, “what if I just killed you.”
File 8026
“On October 14, 2021, the accused Jesse MOONEY sent an email to Mr. Michael Smith who was his lawyer 3 years ago. In the email, the accused stated that Ms. Smith owed him money and that he was going to cut his face to see if he had black blood cells (see email written by Mr. Mooney). It is important to note that the accused was recently released September 27, 2021, from the ROH. He is currently on a mental health order with conditions that are related to his previous harassment and threat charges. Mr. Smith has mentioned that he is fearful for himself, his staff and any clients that could attend his office. According to him, when he received this threat, he immediately shut down his office, and to this date, he is leery to re-open until he knows that the accused has been dealt with. Mr. Smith also believes that the accused is serious about the threats the accused made.”
Background History
Mr. Mooney’s personal, legal and psychiatric history is set out in the hospital report. Briefly summarized, Mr. Mooney is currently 31 years of age and is from the Ottawa area. He has two sisters and a brother living in Ottawa and they remain in contact with him. Mr. Mooney reported that his mother committed suicide when he was eighteen. He believes that this happened because of his alcoholic and abusive father. Mr. Mooney has not talked to his father in years, saying that he had a lot of rage towards him.
Mr. Mooney reportedly quit school in Grade 11. He stated that he did not need it, given his abilities. He apparently worked part-time at two separate jobs in 2019, as a garage mechanic, and at times doing construction and demolition. Mr. Mooney now receives ODSP benefits.
Mr. Mooney has no history of substance abuse.
Criminal History
Mr. Mooney was convicted in 2012 of three counts of robbery (one of which involved a firearm) committed while he was a youth. He was sentenced to six months deferred custody and three months community supervision, plus 12 months’ probation.
Mr. Mooney has several convictions for offenses committed as an adult between January 2014 and March 2018, including eight breaches of probation or bail orders: six convictions for substantive offences including criminal harassment(x2), threats and mischief(x2).
Psychiatric History
Mr. Mooney’s firsts contacts with mental health services were in 2014. He was facing a charge of criminal harassment. After an NCR assessment, he was found to not meet the threshold for an NCR finding. No psychotic elements were noted at the time.
In February 2017, Mr. Mooney was admitted to hospital and prescribed antipsychotic treatment. He was not compliant which resulted in a subsequent admission. In May 2017, following a fitness assessment, it was thought that he was experiencing persecutory and grandiose delusions. He responded well once antipsychotic medication was started. The diagnosis was unspecified psychotic disorder and a cannabis-induced psychotic disorder to be ruled out.
Mr. Mooney had later contact with mental health services when he was incarcerated at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC) for various offences. At that time, Dr. Wood noted that he was claiming to be smarter than everybody and that he had revolutionized the way to look at human anatomy. He had drawings of exercise equipment which he felt would change how people could get fit and healthier. At the time, Mr. Mooney was on a low dose of Olanzapine. He also claimed that the government had been spying on him and that he had a special form of DNA. Dr. Wood diagnosed Mr. Mooney with an unspecified psychotic disorder. His antipsychotic treatment was switched to Paliperidone.
Mr. Mooney’ current diagnoses are:
Main Diagnoses
- Schizophrenia versus delusional disorder
Contributory Diagnoses
Cannabis Use Disorder – in sustained remission
Unspecified Intellectual Disability (by history)
Contributory Personality Features
Adult Antisocial Behaviours
History of Conduct Disorder
Contributory Psychosocial Stressors
Belief that he is being blocked from promoting his new concept of anatomy
Limited social supports
Evidence at the Hearing
The hospital’s evidence was provided through the report and through the oral testimony of Dr. Floyd Wood who is Mr. Mooney’s current attending psychiatrist. That evidence is summarized below.
Mr. Mooney successfully completed the Lebreton Transitional Program and was discharged to his own apartment in September of 2024. He had a prolonged stay at Lebreton due to the difficulty in finding independent accommodation. According to Dr. Wood, several rental applications made by Mr. Mooney were rejected by prospective landlords.
Since his discharge, Mr. Mooney has been functioning relatively well in his new apartment; however, he is not happy with his accommodation given that it is located downtown and there is occasionally violence and police presence in the neighbourhood. Mr. Mooney would like to move to a new home in a new area, but given the current rental shortage, as well as his own financial difficulties, it is difficult for him to find new affordable and better accommodation.
Mr. Mooney’s current treatment team is comprised of Dr. Wood, the social worker, Levia Chan, the Addiction Counsellor, Heather Potter-Gilmour, and his Salus Case Manager, Robin Deschamps. Mr. Mooney had also been working with the Vocational Therapist, Ms. McGuire, who is currently on leave. Dr. Wood noted that Mr. Mooney has successfully engaged with multiple people on the treatment team as this has not always been easy for him to do.
One of the issues in the past reporting year has been Mr. Mooney’s tendency to disengage from the treatment team and distance himself when he is going through periods of stress and discontentment in his life. He has done that multiple times over the course of the year, including between February and May 2025. Mr. Mooney started re-engaging again with the team around May 20, 2025, and at the same time had a negative urine drug screen for THC which was very atypical for him. Subsequently, Mr. Mooney has had other positive THC tests. He then sent messages to the treatment team members that he no longer wished to engage with them. At the time, he was quite sick with the flu, was experiencing financial issues and wanted to sue the Civic Hospital for wrongful discharge. Mr. Mooney also recently sent an email to the Ottawa Police expressing his intent to file charges against police officers at the time of what he believes was a wrongful discharge from the Ottawa Civic Hospital in late 2020.
With respect to cannabis use, which is prohibited by Mr. Mooney’s current disposition, he has continued to use cannabis despite having ongoing involvement with addictions counselling. According to Dr. Wood, Mr. Mooney has made multiple attempts to reduce and cease his cannabis use. The treatment team is attempting to pursue and support him in reaching total abstinence. Dr. Wood confirmed that there is an error at page 85 of the hospital report, specifically with respect to diagnosis and that Mr. Mooney’s Cannabis Use Disorder should be noted as being active, rather than in sustained remission.
The members of the treatment team have been working on helping Mr. Mooney understand and believe that the members of his treatment team are there to help him and support him through his various challenges. He is now engaging better with Ms. Chan in psychotherapy, with Ms. Deschamps from Salus and with Ms. Potter-Gilmour who is the addictions counsellor.
Mr. Mooney recently acquired a dog from another ORB patient, and this has become a major motivator for him. The treatment team was initially concerned about the responsibility that this was placing on Mr. Mooney, but he has responded quite well to having a dog and this has been positive so far for him. Mr. Mooney is expected to start working with an occupational therapist who will assist him with budgeting and dealing with the financial responsibilities of having a dog.
Mr. Mooney is compliant with medication and is taking Abilify, a long-acting injectable antipsychotic, which he receives every four weeks. According to the reports of Ms. Chan, the social worker, Mr. Mooney is working with her on family issues as well as his perceived injustices over the year. He has made some progress in this regard.
According to Dr. Wood, the hospital is aiming for a more consistent engagement from Mr. Mooney in order to help him maintain his stability and to this end, efforts are being made to continue developing good rapports with the members of his treatment team so that they can provide a safety net for him when he is dealing with psychosocial stressors.
In response to questions posed to him by counsel for the Attorney General, Mr. Wright, Dr. Wood stated that he believes that Mr. Mooney is currently optimally treated though there have been multiple medication changes leading to the decision that Abilify provides the best results for Mr. Mooney. The plan over the course of the next year is to focus on the psychosocial aspect of treatment to assist him in maintaining his stability in the community and working on the goal of abstinence.
Further to the questions posed to him by counsel for Mr. Mooney, Mr. Boss, Dr. Wood responded as follows:
(a) When he can minimize the stress in his life, Mr. Mooney tends to express less delusional thinking. In periods of greater stress, his delusional thinking increases, and it tends to come out more so in his targeting authority figures about his past grievances to which he will send a flurry of messages and occasional threats. The second NCR finding on February 9, 2022, involved him making threats to his former lawyer.
(b) Dr. Wood stated that Mr. Mooney tends to do better when he is focussed on prosocial activities such as working in the Bakeology Program and focussing on future goals which helps to divert him from his past grievances. The hospital would like to help Mr. Mooney find employment and is focussing on more structured employment, ideally with a mental health focus.
(c) With respect to housing, Mr. Mooney has been living independently since September 2024 and though he has been clear in his wish to seek alternate accommodation in a better neighbourhood, he appears to be content to stay there while efforts are made to apply for other housing. Dr. Wood confirmed that there have been no concerns or complaints about Mr. Mooney reported by his landlord.
(d) Dr. Wood confirmed that Mr. Mooney had two negative THC urine drug screens, one quite recently and the other one in May. Mr. Mooney’s last UDS was administered on or about August 11th. Mr. Mooney continues to spontaneously talk about wanting to abstain from cannabis and the treatment team will continue to support him in working towards that goal.
(e) Dr. Wood acknowledged that the ORB process and annual hearings cause stress for Mr. Mooney. He was initially disappointed to find out that the hospital was recommending the continuation of a detention order, however he seemed somewhat reassured after the team meeting where discussions were held regarding goals for the coming year and support that will be continuously offered to him.
(f) Dr. Wood confirmed that contact with Mr. Mooney’s family tends to be quite tenuous and is a stress for him as he does not tend to receive the support that he would like from his siblings. Dr. Wood confirmed that Mr. Mooney has a childhood friend that provides him with support.
- In response to questions posed to him by members of the panel, Dr. Wood responded as follows:
(a) Salus will continue to support Mr. Mooney even if he moves to another location.
(b) With respect to cannabis use, the treatment team will be adopting the approach of working on abstinence and finding strategies to assist Mr. Mooney in this regard. Dr. Wood believes that his expressed goal of abstinence is in part driven by his wish to get through the ORB system but also is reflective of some degree of insight into the negative aspects of cannabis.
(c) Mr. Mooney’s tendency to disengage is associated more so with periods of frustration rather than an increase in his symptoms. He has historical issues with not feeling heard, even as a child.
(d) With respect to the diagnosis, Dr. Wood stated that he leans more towards the schizophrenia diagnosis because of previous reports of disorganization. Given that Mr. Mooney has not had a florid decompensation in some time, Dr. Wood has not had further opportunity to confirm his diagnosis.
(e) Mr. Mooney’s tendency to disengage may also reflect some degree of oppositional behaviour as when he does decide to disengage, he does so quite abruptly, and it tends to be when he does not feel heard.
(f) Mr. Wood understands his status under the Board. He gets stressed with the annual review hearings as he wants to get through this system and lead a prosocial life. He talks about wanting a partner, a family, and a job.
(g) In order to be able to recommend a conditional discharge, Dr. Wood would like to see continuous engagement over the course of the next year without any abrupt disengagements. In the opinion of Dr. Wood, Mr. Mooney’s risk would be greater if he disengages as he is likely to further deteriorate without the support of a team which may lead him to re-offend in a similar manner to as to the index offences for both NCR findings.
(h) Dr. Wood believes that a detention order is needed in order to compel Mr. Mooney to remain engaged with the hospital as it is unlikely that that the Mental Health Act would suffice to be able to readmit him if needed. Mr. Mooney is still undergoing significant stressors which are a threat to his stability and is likely to experience a potential housing change over the course of the next year, all of which suggest that a detention order is the necessary and appropriate disposition so that the hospital can have an effective way of returning him to the hospital if needed and to retain the authority to approve accommodation.
(i) Dr. Wood believes that significant threat arises from Mr. Mooney’s engagement in behaviours of criminal harassment that have occurred when he is unwell and unsupported at which time he becomes very preoccupied with past mistreatments and turns his attention towards police or other authorities with whom he has grievances. Dr. Wood is of the view that cannabis does remain an active risk factor for Mr. Mooney.
- The hospital risk assessment is set out at pages 86 and 87 as follows:
“The HCR-20V3 is a structured, clinical checklist for assessing risk of future violence. It can be used to estimate risk for violence, both in a hospital setting, and upon release to the community. The HCR-20V3 includes both historical risk factors and dynamic risk factors that are potential targets for supervision and/or treatment. Although the HCR-20 does not generate a probability estimate of risk, it does help identify factors that are malleable via clinical, or risk management supports.
The factors related to Mr. Mooney’s risk have largely been unchanged over the past year, thus limited changes to the previous HCR-20 in last year’s ORB report.
Guided by the HCR-20, the most relevant historical risk factors in Mr. Mooney’s violence risk profile are his problems with major mental illness, history of violence, prior supervision failure, and his history of poor medication compliance. What has become more relevant over time is his cannabis abuse, where it is clear that he experiences decompensations in his mental illness with more prominent delusions that result in a preoccupation and acting out towards government figures. He has been compliant with his current long-acting injectable antipsychotic, which he receives every two weeks without prompting. Present, but of lesser relevance to his violence risk, are his history of problems with employment, his lack of supportive relationships, possible antisocial attitudes, as well as his history of adverse childhood experiences.
With regard to clinical risk items, it is noted that he continues to experience only limited insight into his mental illness and violence risk. He also continues to have active delusional beliefs as part of his mental illness, although this is mainly exacerbated by increased cannabis use while he has ongoing medication compliance. His current medication regiment seems to minimize the preoccupation with delusional themes, where he has been able to maintain gainful employment while also being viewed as a valuable member of the Lebreton Salus home. There also appears to be some negative attitudes, where he believes at lot of his actions were justified, but mostly in the context of his delusional beliefs.”
- No other evidence was presented.
Submissions of the Parties
The hospital submits that Mr. Mooney continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public and that a detention order continues to be required to manage the risk at this time.
Counsel for the Attorney General, Mr. Wright, indicated his support of the hospital recommendation and noted that Mr. Mooney recently sent further communications to the police which could have been viewed as approaching the threshold for a criminal harassment charge, had it continued.
Counsel for Mr. Mooney, Mr. Boss, conceded the issue of significant threat to the safety of the public but urged the Board to consider a conditional discharge as being the least onerous disposition in the circumstances. Despite some periods of disengagement, Mr. Mooney has overall made progress over the course of the past year and showing a better ability to tolerate stress, including a desire and wish to transition to a new residence.
Analysis and Conclusion
Having considered all of the evidence tendered at the hearing, and the submissions of the parties, the Board finds that Mr. Mooney continues to meet the threshold of significant risk to the safety of the public as set out in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code of Canada and as further defined in Winko v. British Columbia (Forensic Psychiatric Institute), 1999 CanLII 694 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625.
According to R. v. Winko, a ‘significant threat to the safety of the public’ means a real risk of physical or psychological harm to members of the public that is serious in the sense of going beyond the merely trivial or annoying. The conduct giving rise to the harm must be criminal in nature. Further, it is noted that evidence to determine whether an individual is a significant threat to the safety of the public can include the past and expected course of the NCR accused’s treatment, if any, the present state of the NCR accused’s medical condition, the NCR accused’s own plans for the future, the support services existing for the NCR accused in the community, as well as other items.
The finding that Mr. Mooney continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public is based on the uncontroverted evidence of the hospital, both in its report and in the viva voce evidence of Dr. Wood. Mr. Mooney has two separate NCR findings for uttering threats, committed while non-compliant with treatment and experiencing psychotic symptoms. He also has a criminal record with convictions for similar offences.
Though he has transitioned well to the community, Mr. Mooney still requires significant supports to deal with the various psychosocial stressors in his life. He has continued to struggle with cannabis use, which is has been known to worsen his mental condition and has recently resorted to behaviours resembling the index offences, whereby he airs out his grievances with various authorities and ultimately resorts to making threats to harm certain individuals.
The hospital needs to maintain engagement with Mr. Mooney, which may not be possible under a conditional discharge given Mr. Mooney’s tendency to disengage with the treatment team. If he was to decompensate, it is likely that the Mental Health Act would be insufficient to effect readmission to hospital, as per the hospital’s evidence.
Furthermore, Mr. Mooney’s housing is in flux. This is a major stressor for him. He needs the support of the hospital if he is to tolerate his current residence while he starts the process of finding such suitable accommodation in a city where there is a considerable shortage of such suitable accommodation. It is important for the hospital to continue to have the authority to approve accommodation, given how central this is to Mr. Mooney’s stability.
Having considered the four factors set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code, namely the protection of the public, which is the paramount consideration, the mental condition of the accused, his reintegration into society and his other needs, the Board finds that a continuation of the detention order, on the same terms and conditions remains the necessary and appropriate and the least onerous and least restrictive disposition.
DATED this 24th day of September 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. M. Labrosse
Legal Member
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Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Boar