Re: Christian Herbert Harold Magee, 2025 CanLII 135029

Re: Christian Herbert Harold Magee

ORB File No: 0446

Hearing held on: Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Place of hearing: Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care

Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Mr. P. Capelle

Members: Dr. R. Sheppard (via Zoom)

Dr. T. Stirpe

Mr. D. D’Intino

Mr. J. Cyr

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Christian Herbert Harold Magee

Counsel: Ms. B. Benincasa

The Person in charge of Hospital: Counsel: Ms. J. Lefebvre (via Zoom)

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. S. Curry

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated December 23, 2025)

Introduction

1. On October 21, 1977, and on January 18, and January 22, 1980, Christian Herbert Harold Magee was found not guilty by reason of insanity, (now referred to as not criminally responsible) pursuant to s. 16 of the Criminal Code, on two counts of murder, first-degree murder, rape, and indecent assault. Mr. Magee is currently subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the "Board") dated November 26, 2024, detaining him at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care – Provincial Forensic Programs Division (“Waypoint”), with hospital grounds privileges, beyond the secure perimeter, escorted by staff.

2. On November 19, 2025, a panel of the Ontario Review Board (the "ORB" or the "Board") convened a hearing pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada. Mr. Magee was in attendance and was represented by his counsel, Ms. Benincasa.

Without Prejudice Position of the Parties

3. Ms. Lefebvre stated that no changes were recommended to the existing Disposition. That position was supported by Ms. Curry. Ms. Benincasa, on behalf of Mr. Magee, stated that the ongoing presence of significant threat and the propriety of a detention Disposition was not contested. She was however seeking an amendment to Mr. Magee’s current Disposition enabling him to attend in person at his bank, accompanied by staff to address some banking concerns.

Background and Index Offences

4. Mr. Magee is now 79 years old, born in Strathroy, Ontario, the middle child of three children. He began working at a very young age in various jobs, including working in tobacco fields, on his uncle’s farm, and doing factory work. Mr. Magee met his wife in 1970. They married a year later, and they have four children. Mr. Magee stated that there was physical violence in the relationship and on one occasion, he punched his wife in the stomach. During his marriage, he held multiple jobs, often supplemented with government-assisted benefits or employment insurance.

5. Psychiatric background information is contained in the Hospital Report. He has been an inpatient at Waypoint for approximately 48 years. When he first arrived at Oak Ridge (now known as Waypoint), he was functionally illiterate. Over the years, he has become literate and has participated in vocational programs that have assisted him in working at small jobs within the perimeter of the hospital.

6. The Hospital Report indicates that Mr. Magee has maintained a relatively quiet presence within Waypoint and is considered a good institutional citizen. A 2022 sixty-day assessment conducted at St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton (“St. Joseph's”) determined that his risk level remains unchanged from the time of the index offences.

7. The circumstances of the index offences are taken from last year’s Reasons for Disposition as follows:

“Between 1974 and 1976, Mr. Magee committed a series of serious violent acts in Strathroy, London and Lambton, Ontario. The first murder occurred on March 2, 1974, when he fatally slashed the throat of a 19-year-old woman during an attempted rape. On June 20, 1975, he committed an indecent assault involving digital penetration during another attempted rape. The second murder took place on October 20, 1975, which followed a similar pattern where he killed the victim of an attempted rape. A few weeks later, on November 3, 1975, Mr. Magee raped a 14year-old girl, inflicting a fractured skull and other injuries, and he admitted to attempting to kill her. On June 15, 1976, he murdered a 15-year-old girl.”

Current Diagnoses

• Sexual Sadism
• Transvestic Fetishism
• Antisocial Personality Disorder

Evidence at Hearing

8. Ms. Lefebvre called Dr. Bunker to provide an update to the Hospital Report, entered as Exhibit 1. Dr. Bunker advised that Mr. Magee maintains the highest level of privileges within Waypoint (C5).

9. Cognitive screening demonstrates no cognitive issues. Within the last month, Mr. Magee has advised the doctor that he feels entitled to move on from Waypoint following “50 years of sadistic institutionalization”. He also speaks of bringing a case to the Supreme Court of Canada connected to his “moral culpability.”

10. There is no indication of a reduction to Mr. Magee’s risk over the last review period. Despite his age, Mr. Magee remains physically capable of doing harm to others.

11. Mr. Magee remains compliant with Lupron, which mitigates risk by reducing testosterone levels. 2002 testing reveals that Mr. Magee remains capable of arousal notwithstanding his adherence to Lupron. Therefore, the necessity of ongoing treatment with Lupron within the secure perimeter of Waypoint is questionable. Dr. Bunker is unsure if the risk is worth the benefit. However, Mr. Magee is treatment capable and continues to accept the physical side effects associated with Lupron.

12. Dr. Bunker noted that Mr. Magee attended a memorial service for his deceased son escorted by staff in 2024. There were previous discussions with family members that no children be present and despite that discussion, four children were in attendance.

13. There have been no changes to Mr. Magee’s development of insight over the past year. Dr. Bunker opined that there would be no reduction in Mr. Magee’s risk were he to receive an absolute discharge.

14. Mr. Magee remains capable of causing both physical and psychological harm. Dr. Bunker confirmed that a functioning penis is not required in order to commit a sexual assault.

15. Transfer to a medium secure forensic facility would necessitate restricting Mr. Magee to the physical confines of a unit which would likely prove untenable and unsustainable. Dr. Bunker expressed considerable concern if Mr. Magee were transferred to a medium secure facility which housed female patients. Mr. Magee enjoys more liberty at Waypoint where he can access the secure perimeter absent interfacing with the general public. Dr. Bunker would not support any community access for this patient.

16. Mr. Magee attends medical appointments outside of Waypoint. These are of limited duration and always staff accompanied without incident. Dr. Bunker has no reason to believe that a bank visit would put the public at risk. Responding to questions from Ms. Curry, Dr. Bunker stated that if Mr. Magee was accompanied to his bank, she would want to see two staff at a minimum escort him and the police should also be notified in the event they want to be present.

17. Responding to questions from patient’s counsel, Dr. Bunker confirmed that no changes have been noted to Mr. Magee’s behaviour in the past year. Further, there is no intention to revisit the findings from the 2022 phallometric testing.

18. Dr. Bunker could not predict at what age Mr. Magee’s physical inability to cause harm will occur. She added that this is likely when he is unable to hold or grab someone.

19. Existing risk assessment tools are not appropriate for Mr. Magee due to the combination of his diagnosis and index offences. She does not expect specific measures will be developed due to Mr. Magee’s unique profile. There do not appear to be any effective treatments for Mr. Magee. There are no plans for consultations regarding new treatments or therapies subsequent to the extensive review completed in 2022 at St. Joseph’s.

20. Responding to a question from a panel member, Dr. Bunker stated that her patient makes it seem that there is a positive therapeutic alliance between them. The week prior to this hearing, Mr. Magee advised Dr. Bunker that he was happy to have someone looking at his case. Dr. Bunker opined that his comments in this regard are superficial. Dr. Bunker related that they discussed what she would say in the course of this hearing. Mr. Magee inquired as to the treatment he could be offered, and the restrictions of a less secure facility were discussed. Dr. Bunker related that she advised Mr. Magee that he would need to be more open in discussing his sadistic preferences before greater access to the community could be considered. Dr. Bunker advised that Mr. Magee stated to her that he does not have, nor has he ever had sadistic preferences. Responding to an additional question from the panel, Dr. Bunker stated that sexual sadism despite age is unlikely to resolve. Further, Lupron does not change sexual preference. Dr. Bunker agreed that the most accurate phallometric test result is the first one conducted. As Mr. Magee’s sadistic preferences are already known, there is no major value in reconfirming this.

21. Dr. Bunker referenced a community meeting in July of 2025 when Mr. Magee advised that individuals at Waypoint are not guilty and should enjoy the same community access as everyone else. Mr. Magee added that he is innocent due to the NGRI (not guilty by reason of insanity) determination. Dr. Bunker, in response, advised Mr. Magee that this type of comment is provocative. To date, she has met with Mr. Magee on eight occasions and will continue to meet with him on a bi-weekly basis.

Closing Observations

22. Ms. Lefebvre maintained the hospital recommendation as set out in the Hospital Report. She submitted that the evidence is clear that Mr. Magee remains a significant threat. Dr. Bunker’s evidence is that given Mr. Magee’s level of risk, Waypoint provides him with access to a secure perimeter while maintaining the safety of co-patients and staff.

23. Female patients must be shielded from Mr. Magee at this time as he maintains the ability to cause physical harm. Ms. Lefebvre agreed that there is also a risk of psychological harm as suggested by Ms. Curry. There remains a concern that when Mr. Magee enters the community, there is only so much that can be done to limit his risk as seen in his 2024 attendance at his son’s memorial service.

24. Ms. Curry submitted that this patient’s risk is vividly characterized by Dr. Bunker on today’s date and as previously described by Dr. Chaimowitz when Mr. Magee was at St. Joseph's for a risk assessment in 2022 and by Dr. Van Impe in his September 2024 Risk Assessment, reproduced from page 233 of the Hospital Report:

In December 2023, Mr. Magee, while admitted to a general hospital for medical reasons, exposed his genitals to female staff and was misusing the call bell to seek assistance from female nursing staff. During this medical admission, Mr. Magee was escorted by Waypoint staff, and it was their opinion that he was intentionally exposing his genitals and then asking for assistance on a near hourly basis so that he could have his genitals wiped by staff. This behavior apparently only occurred when female nursing staff were available.

25. Ms. Curry reiterated that a functional penis is not required to commit a sexual offence. The above noted request to have his genitals wiped only occurred in the presence of female staff.

26. Mr. Magee’s first phallometric test result from April 1982 is considered the most accurate and provides a diagnosis of sexual sadism. Last year’s Reasons for Disposition reference Dr. Van Impe’s testimony that psychotherapy could teach Mr. Magee to hide his true intentions thereby increasing his risk. Ms. Curry concluded that the diagnosis and index offence combination of this patient is quite rare.

27. Ms. Benincasa submitted that the requested bank appointment would be very brief and supervised. She does not feel that notification of police would be necessary as Mr. Magee has attended medical appointments absent any incidents. Mr. Magee is desirous of new treatments. Ms. Benincasa submitted that there needs to be some new research/collaboration for him to progress through the ORB system notwithstanding that it would only be applicable to his unique circumstances.

Analysis and Decision

(a) Significant Threat

28. Ongoing significant threat to the safety of the public cannot be speculative. It must entail a real risk of serious physical or psychological harm arising from conduct that is both serious and criminal in nature.

29. In determining whether Mr. Magee continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, the Board has carefully analyzed the evidence as it relates to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Winko, 1999 CanLII 694 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625.

30. The Board unanimously finds that Mr. Magee continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public. In arriving at this determination, the Board considered the joint position of the parties and accepted the uncontroverted evidence of Dr. Bunker that Mr. Magee continues to pose a significant threat. The Board also relies on the contents of the Hospital Report and more specifically the Risk Assessments contained therein as referenced in these Reasons in determining that Mr. Magee suffers from Sexual Sadism, a major mental illness, complicated by Transvestic Fetishism and Antisocial Personality Disorder.

31. The Board therefore accepts that absent an ORB Disposition, Mr. Magee would likely become non-compliant with prescribed medications which would lead to decompensation, use of substances and the re-emergence of behaviours similar to those seen at the time of the index offences. We are satisfied that absent an ORB Disposition, it is likely that Mr. Magee will cause serious physical or psychological harm to members of the public and such conduct will likely be criminal in nature.

(b) Disposition

32. Flowing from the Board’s finding that Mr. Magee continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public, it must shape a Disposition for the year ahead. Its paramount consideration in doing so must be the safety of the public while also considering Mr. Magee’s needs pursuant to s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.

33. The necessary and appropriate Disposition for Mr. Magee provides him as much freedom as possible without subjecting the community to a real risk of dangerous behaviour.

34. In considering Mr. Magee’s needs, the Board was attentive to his desire for new treatments and possible transfer to a medium secure forensic facility.

35. The uncontroverted expert evidence is Mr. Magee presents with a unique psychiatric profile. His diagnosis of Sexual Sadism is unlikely to change as he ages. Importantly, because Mr. Magee fails to recognize that he suffers from Sexual Sadism, this precludes him from openly discussing those preferences.

36. The panel carefully considered Ms. Benincasa’s request for new research/collaboration that would allow Mr. Magee to progress through the ORB system. The request was weighed against a 2024 expert forensic psychiatric opinion put forward by Dr. Van Impe that psychotherapy could increase Mr. Magee’s risk by teaching him to hide his true intentions. Additionally, the Assessment Report that followed Mr. Magee’s 2022 sixty-day tenure at St. Joseph’s was carefully reviewed. Pages 29-31 of the Assessment Report signed by Dr. Gary Chaimowitz, provides his “Impression” of Mr. Magee. The following excerpts merit reproduction:

Apart from Liam Marshall, who has put a lot of weight on his positive psychotherapeutic engagement with Mr. Magee, every other assessor who has written a report in the past has suggested that there is absolutely no benefit for psychotherapeutic interventions. In my view, these psychotherapeutic interventions are likely to produce no benefit and may very well distort the impression that Mr. Magee gives.

Mr. Magee is a unique serial sadistic sexual homicide perpetrator with multiple paraphilias. There are few people like Mr. Magee in the world, and none of the instruments used have been tested and validated on individuals such as Mr. Magee. The few individuals such as Mr. Magee, have usually been placed in settings where the risk of reoffence is close to zero. Consequently, it makes no sense, to use these tools. In fact, viewing the results will likely create an invalid, biased view of his risk.

Having taken all of this into consideration and accepting what has already been proven and accepted over the decades, Mr. Magee has committed a series of sexually sadistic homicides and other offences based on an intrinsic series of disorders. These disorders are untreated and untreatable [emphasis added].

37. Given the foregoing, in particular the bolded sentence in the preceding excerpt, this panel is unable to recommend any new research/collaboration that could potentially enable Mr. Magee to advance in his rehabilitation and community re-integration.

38. Mr. Magee remains properly placed at Waypoint. Its secure perimeter provides him with an appropriate degree of liberty and vocational programming while maintaining the safety of co-patients and staff. There is no basis to provide him with greater access to the community.

Conclusion

39. Therefore, the Board unanimously determines that the necessary and appropriate Disposition required to manage the threat Mr. Magee poses to the safety of the public while still meeting his needs, remains a Detention Disposition with the following addition for the upcoming reporting year:

to attend outside of hospital for necessary banking purposes, escorted by staff to a prearranged private office within the bank on a one-time basis

40. In making this Disposition, the Board carefully considered the positions and submissions of the parties and the evidence of Dr. Bunker and is satisfied that this determination is both necessary and appropriate. The Board reviewed the provisions of s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code and carefully considered the need to protect the public from dangerous persons, Mr. Magee’s mental condition, his reintegration into society and his other needs.

DATED this 23rd day of December 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.

Mr. P. Capelle

Alternate Chairperson

Office of the Registrar

Ontario Review Board