Ontario Review Board
Re: David Uhlemann
ORB File No: 6041/6178
Hearing held on: Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. L. Banks Members: Dr. L. Cappe Dr. C. Rose Hon. C. Nelson Mr. J. Cyr
Parties Appearing:
Accused: David Uhlemann Counsel: Ms. S. Dubb
The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Mr. D. Blumenkrans
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. S. Cressman
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated October 30, 2025)
Introduction:
On January 20, 2012, Mr. David Uhlemann was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on a charge of robbery, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (“Criminal Code”). On July 24, 2012, he was also found NCR on a charge of aggravated assault, also contrary to the Criminal Code.
Mr. Uhlemann is currently subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (“ORB” or the “Board”) dated October 3, 2024, detaining him within the Forensic Service of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (“CAMH” or the “hospital”) with discretionary privileges up to and including the ability to live in the community in accommodation approved by the person in charge. His Disposition also requires that he refrain from contact or communication, direct or indirect, with Maria Pawlowska and Stephen Taylor.
On October 8, 2025, a panel of the Board convened to conduct an annual review of Mr. Uhlemann’s existing Disposition pursuant to s.672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Uhlemann was present at the hearing with his counsel, Mr. C. Hynes.
The issues to be determined at the hearing were whether Mr. Uhlemann continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public as defined in section 672.5401 of the Criminal Code and, if so, what is the necessary and appropriate Disposition which is also the least onerous and least restrictive taking into account the factors set out in section
672.54 of the Criminal Code.
- For the reasons set out below, this Board finds that Mr. Uhlemann continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the least onerous and least restrictive Disposition that is both necessary and appropriate in the circumstances is that he be detained within the Forensic Service at CAMH on the terms of his existing Disposition.
Positions of the Parties:
- At the commencement of the hearing, the parties were requested to provide their initial without prejudice positions with respect to the issues before the Board. Counsel for the hospital submitted that Mr. Uhlemann continued to constitute a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate Disposition was a continuation
of his current Detention Order.
Counsel for the Attorney General agreed with the hospital's position.
Counsel for Mr. Uhlemann indicated that his client was supportive of the hospital’s Disposition recommendation and conceded the issue of significant threat.
All parties maintained their joint recommendation to the Board in closing submissions.
Index Offences:
- The incidents giving rise to the index offences are extracted from last year’s Board’s Reasons for Disposition dated October 21, 2024, as follows:
" Aggravated Assault – June 1, 2010
On June 1, 2010, just after midnight police were called to an address on Ossington
Avenue for a reported assault. The complainant who made the call was a cleaner at the
Ossington Avenue residence who advised police that just before midnight she had seen
the victim, ST, in the television room in a verbal dispute with Mr. Uhlemann. After leaving the room she heard a loud commotion and when she ran back into the TV room, she saw ST lying on the floor with Mr. Uhlemann standing over him, stomping on his head with his foot. The cleaner yelled at Mr. Uhlemann to stop and he ran past her out the front door of the residence. ST was taken to the hospital where it was determined that he had a fractured orbital bone around his left eye, a possible broken right arm and a
collapsed lung.
Robbery – December 2, 2011
On December 2, 2011, a 61-year-old woman was walking home along Dunn Avenue in
Toronto. Without warning, she was approached by Mr. Uhlemann, who grabbed her from
behind and began to pull at her purse, breaking the strap from her shoulder. He threw
her to the ground as she yelled for help and struggled to hold on to her purse. Her cries
for help alerted a passerby who came to her aid and assisted the victim by wrestling Mr.
Uhlemann to the ground and holding him there until the police arrived.”
Personal Background:
The Hospital Report dated September 26, 2025 (the “Hospital Report”) outlines Mr. Uhlemann’s history and background and need not be repeated here in detail. In brief, Mr. Uhlemann is 59 years old. He was born in Toronto. By the age of 10 or 11, he exhibited considerable oppositional behaviour. When he was 16 years old, his mother passed away. He reportedly had a conflictual relationship with his stepmother who assumed the main role in managing his behaviour.
During his adolescent years, Mr. Uhlemann was asked to leave the family home due to his drug use. He had no fixed address and spent time in shelters and parks.
After leaving school in grade 10, he had some occasional employment. He has been unemployed for over 20 years and is financially supported by ODSP.
Mr. Uhlemann reported that he began drinking alcohol at the age of 13, and that by the
time of the index offences, he had used many different drugs, including marijuana, hashish, cocaine, crack and LSD. At age 32, he began to use crack regularly, smoking it about four times a week.
Prior to the index offences, Mr. Uhlemann had only a limited criminal record, largely involving charges of theft.
Mr. Uhlemann has a significant psychiatric history commencing in 1987, when he was hospitalized after a suicide attempt. The Hospital Report outlines multiple admissions between December 1988 and June 2009.
In the community, Mr. Uhlemann was frequently non-compliant with prescribed medications and used substances, including cocaine. Some of his admissions to hospital were marked with assaultive and aggressive behaviour, and there were also instances of muteness and symptoms suggestive of catatonia.
Course Subsequent to NCR Finding:
- After being found NCR, Mr. Uhlemann was admitted to CAMH where he remained until his discharge into the community in December 2014. He remained in the community until
October 2016 when he was admitted for several days. There were further readmissions to hospital in 2018 and 2019 due to mental deterioration, medication non-compliance and substance use. On November 6, 2019, he was again admitted to hospital after failing to comply with reporting requirements, substance use, mental deterioration and aggression and has essentially remained detained in hospital since.
Current Diagnoses:
- Mr. Uhlemann’s current diagnoses are:
Schizophrenia, continuous (treatment resistant); and
Substance Use Disorders (Cocaine, Marijuana, Alcohol) in partial remission in a controlled environment.
Evidence at the Hearing:
Dr. I. Swayze, who is Mr. Uhlemann’s attending psychiatrist, testified at the hearing to supplement the documentary evidence forming the Record and Exhibits, including the Hospital Report. The doctor advised that he has been involved in Mr. Uhlemann’s care since January 10, 2024. He was previously under the care of Dr. S. Darani.
Dr. Swayze reported that there were no material updates to the Hospital Report.
Mr. Uhlemann remains incapable of consenting to treatment and the Public Guardian and Trustee acts as his substitute decision maker (“SDM”). Under his SDM’s consent, he received treatment with the oral antipsychotic medications, Clozapine and his treatment is augmented by a long-acting injection of Aripiprazole every four weeks. Mr. Uhlemann passively accepts his medications under direct staff observation. At present, his. Medications are considered optimized but he stated that he was open to having a MAPS assessment conducted.
Despite adherence to his prescribed treatment, Mr. Uhlemann continues to experience psychotic symptoms, primarily in the form of auditory hallucinations, with episodes. Of paranoia. He is frequently observed responding to internal stimuli. Mr. Uhlemann does not express overt delusions but often presents as very suspicious. His thought form remains mildly tangential and circumstantial. Dr. Swayze stated that Mr. Uhlemann is presently at his baseline presentation with some residual symptoms. The doctor stated that Mr. Uhlemann complains of sedation at higher doses.
The Hospital Report indicates that “Unfortunately, although Mr. Uhlemann continues to experience residual psychosis, there is no practical room for dosage increase in his clozapine (levels therapeutic and patient resistant to accepting higher doses of an oral medication). The addition of the aripiprazole for augmentation does not appear to have resulted in a significant attenuation of the residual psychosis.” Mr. Uhlemann’s illness is described as treatment resistant/refractory in that he has never been entirely symptom-free since its onset, despite medication compliance.
When asked about his symptoms, Mr. Uhlemann acknowledges experiencing transient episodes of auditory hallucinations, and to a lesser extent, visual hallucinations. He has denied paranoid thoughts, or thoughts of denied self-harm, or aggressive or elopement ideation, plan or intent. Dr. Swayze advised that Mr. Uhlemann’s mood has remained stable with no indications of mania, hypomania or mixed mood disturbance.
Dr. Swayze stated that Mr. Uhlemann has continued to be an in-patient on the Forensic General Unit D. The doctor advised that since November 4, 2024, Mr. Uhlemann had been using accompanied passes into the community and that since February 12, 2025, he was using indirectly supervised passes on CAMH grounds.
Other than the unauthorized leave of absence (“ULOA”) incident referred to below, Mr. Uhlemann has not presented as a management problem over the past year in review. He has remained compliant with his medications, adherent with unit rules, abstinent of substances and presented as mentally stable. He did not engage in any violence or sexually in disinhibited behavior. He has been cooperative with co-patients and clinicians.
He commenced the clinical year in review at Level 2/3 passes and his privileges gradually increased over the year to level five and included in directly supervised hospital and grounds passes to attend counselling at Forensic Consultation and Treatment (“FORCAT”) and Therapeutic Neighborhood.
Unfortunately, on April 28, 2025, Mr. Uhlemann failed to return from an indirectly supervised hospital grounds pass. He went on an ULOA and was returned to CAMH by police on May 3, 2025. Mr. Uhlemann reported use of alcohol, cocaine and crack-cocaine while out of hospital.
When he was returned to the hospital by police, he had missed 6 days of clozapine and required this medication to be re-titrated up to his previous dose over the course of two weeks. The recommendation by Addictions Medicine on May 6, 2025, was that Mr. Uhlemann be treated with topiramate to attenuate his cravings for alcohol and stimulants but he has declined same. He had previously declined a trial of naltrexone which is also a medication aimed at attenuating cravings which is also a medication aimed at attenuating cravings. Dr. Swayze stated that the goals for the year ahead include to. Encourage Mr. Uhlemann to a trial of a medication to attenuate cravings for substances. Dr. Swayze stated that Mr. Uhlemann acts impulsively at times and absconds from hospital and engages in substance use.
In consequence of his ULOA, Mr. Uhlemann’s accompanied community passes and indirectly supervised hospital grounds passes were suspended. This man said he was only able to access the secure yard. Notice of this suspension in his privileges was provided by the hospital to the ORB by letter dated May 12, 2025.
Mr. Uhlemann remained at level zero of the pass ladder until July 8, 2025 when he progressed to level 1 allowing for staff escorted hospital and grounds privileges. On August 27, 2025, Mr. Uhlemann pass level was increased to level 2. Currently, the clinical team is awaiting approval from the office of the person in charge to grant Mr. Uhlemann level 3 passes which would provide him with staff accompanied passes on hospital and grounds and staff escorted passes into the community. Dr. Swayze stated that when Mr. Uhlemann has access to indirectly supervised passes, he is vulnerable to impulsivity and absconding. Over the past two years, he has absconded twice while on indirectly supervised passes.
Mr. Uhlemann is presently engaged in limited risk-management or therapeutic programming but he does participate in leisure/skill building activities. More recently, in July 2025, Mr. Uhlemann was receptive to re-engaging in weekly 1:1 counselling with a FORCAT clinician.
Since Mr. Uhlemann’s readmission to the hospital, with medication changes, the attenuation of stressors within the supportive environment of the hospital, he is once again approaching his baseline mental status.
In terms of his eventual discharge to community living, the Hospital Report indicates that Mr. Uhlemann as being on the Toronto Mental Health and Addiction Access Point wait list for mental health supportive housing since December 2021. He also remains on the Mental Health and justice supportive housing waitlist since 2024. Other high-support housing options are being explored by the treatment team, including CAMH’s “CommuniCare” initiative.
Mr. Uhlemann’s insight has remained consistent with previous years. He is aware of his diagnosis of schizophrenia but he does not accept that diagnosis nor relate his treatment with the attenuation of his symptoms. He continues to maintain his actions at the time of the index offences had no relationship to his mental illness. In terms of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and other psychoactive substances use, Mr. Uhlemann believes that modest use of same would not have an impact on his mental state or elevate his risk of violence. He acknowledges that his abstinence is, in part, externally motivated by the expectations of the clinical team and his concern of consequences. Overall, his insight across all relevant domains remains essentially nonexistent, despite ongoing health teaching.
Mr. Uhlemann reports no regular contact with his family and he has a fairly limited peer support group.
The doctor advised that Mr. Uhlemann’s readiness for discharge to the community will be predicated on his clinical stability, his progression through the privilege ladder, his engagement with the treatment team, and an improvement in his insight regarding the impact of substance use on his mental state. The doctor opined that the continued inclusion of a community living privilege in Mr. Uhlemann’s Detention Order is appropriate as he may be an appropriate candidate for discharge over the course of the year. As well, its inclusion may be motivational for Mr. Uhlemann.
According to the Risk Assessment contained in the Hospital Report, “Overall, his future violence/case prioritization was rated as low within a hospital setting and moderate to high in a community setting. Risk of serious physical harm was rated as low within the hospital setting and moderate to high in a community setting. Risk of imminent violence was rated as low within the hospital setting and moderate to high in a community setting.”
Dr. Swayze endorsed the finding of the Hospital Report which indicates that “If Mr. Uhlemann is to re-offend, this would likely occur in the context of non-compliance with medication and/or the use of substances leading to worsening in his ongoing psychotic symptoms. This would likely to lead to further destabilization and disinhibition resulting in an increased risk.”
Dr. Swayze agreed that Mr. Uhlemann continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, and that his existing detention order disposition with privileges up to community living remains both necessary and appropriate for risk management purposes.
No further evidence was called by the parties.
Analysis and Decision:
The Board has no difficulty in agreeing with the recommendation of the parties that the significant threat threshold is met in this case. Mr. Uhlemann suffers from schizophrenia, and his illness is prone to acute exacerbations in his symptoms. Despite compliance with aggressive treatment, he is still described as having a “fragile mental state” and he is prone to rapid decompensations which can be triggered by substance use, medical issues (hyponatremia), non-compliance with medications and/or stressors. This most recently occurred in April 2025 when he absconded from the hospital and used alcohol and cocaine while living unsheltered in the community.
When ill, his psychosis has been intense and led to a pattern of significant behavioural dyscontrol and violence. He has a history which includes violence towards staff and co-patients, and his parents in the early 1990s. His index offences were violent in nature and one resulted in serious injury.
Complicating his presentation is the fact that he has been diagnosed with polysubstance use disorders. Historically, he has suffered rapid decompensations in his mental state triggered by substance use. As stated above, he recently relapsed to alcohol and illicit substances when on an ULOA in the community.
Having reached the conclusion that Mr. Uhlemann continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, the Board directed its attention to crafting the least onerous and least restrictive Disposition.
The Board considered whether Mr. Uhlemann could be granted a less restrictive Conditional Discharge Disposition but determined that such a Disposition had no air of reality at this juncture and would be inappropriate to safely manage his risk. Mr. Uhlemann continues to require ongoing detention in the hospital before he is ready to transition back to community living. When assessed as an appropriate candidate for discharge, the hospital will require the ongoing oversight of his placement in the community to ensure that his residence provides him with high-supports, structure, supervision, and close monitoring. Further, when living in the community, the hospital will likely require the authority of a Detention Order to expeditiously and at an early juncture readmit him to the hospital should he suffer a decompensation in his mental status as a result of breakthrough symptoms, medication noncompliance, substance use or for any reason whatsoever.
Accordingly, the Board finds that the necessary and appropriate Disposition is a continuation of Mr. Uhlemann’s current Detention Order which contains a community living privilege.
In reaching our decision, this Board has taken into consideration the need to protect the public from dangerous persons, the mental condition of Mr. Uhlemann, his reintegration into society, and his other needs.
DATED this 30th day of October, 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. L. Banks Alternate Chairperson
__________________ Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board