Re Jevonne Pollard-Wilson, 2025 CanLII 135042

Re: Jevonne Pollard-Wilson

ORB File No: 8643

Hearing held on: Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Place of hearing: Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care

Pursuant to: Sections 672.48(1) and 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Ms. J. Mills

Members: Dr. R. Wood Hill Dr. G. Stones Ms. C. Fromstein Ms. C. Plyley

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Jevonne Pollard-Wilson Counsel: Ms. C. Whillier

The Person in charge of Hospital: Counsel: Ms. J. Lefebvre

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

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated December 22, 2025)

Introduction

1. On October 1, 2024, Jevonne Pollard-Wilson was found unfit to stand trial on a charge of fail to comply with an order made under s. 490.012 of the Criminal Code of Canada (the “Criminal Code”).

2. Mr. Pollard-Wilson is subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the “Board”) dated November 26, 2024, detaining him at the Secure Forensic Service of the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, Whitby, Ontario (“Ontario Shores”), with privileges up to and including the ability to enter the community within 150 kilometres of the Ontario Shores, accompanied by staff, or a person approved by the person in charge. Until such time as Mr. Pollard-Wilson is transferred, authority remains with Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care - High Secure Provincial Forensic Programs (“Waypoint”), with hospital and grounds privileges beyond the secure perimeter escorted by staff.

3. On November 25, 2025, a panel of the Board convened to review Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s disposition pursuant to s. 672.48(1) and s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Pollard-Wilson was present for his hearing and was represented by counsel throughout the proceedings.

4. The issues to be determined are whether Mr. Pollard-Wilson remains unfit to stand trial and whether he is likely permanently unfit. If permanently unfit, the Board must decide whether he is a significant threat to the safety of the public, and if so, the necessary and appropriate disposition to manage that risk having regard to the criteria set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.

5. At the commencement of the hearing, counsel for the hospital submitted that Mr. Pollard-Wilson remains unfit and that he should be detained at the High Secure Provincial Forensic Programs at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care and that he should no longer be transferred to Ontario Shores. Counsel for the Attorney General agreed with the hospital’s position. Counsel for Mr. Pollard-Wilson submitted that Mr. Pollard-Wilson was not taking a position with respect to fitness and would like to transfer to Ontario Shores. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hospital maintained their initial position. Counsel for the Attorney General submitted that Mr. Pollard-Wilson remains unfit and should be transferred to Ontario Shores. Counsel for Mr. Pollard-Wilson also maintained her initial position.

6. For the reasons set out below, the Board finds that Mr. Pollard-Wilson remains unfit to stand trial and there should be no change to his current disposition.

Evidence at the Hearing

7. The Board received documentary evidence in the form of a Hospital Report dated October 16, 2025, and marked as Exhibit 1. The Board also heard viva voce testimony from Dr. Komer.

Outstanding Charges

8. The circumstances of the outstanding charges are excerpted from last year’s Reasons for Disposition, as follows:

On July 4, 2019, Jevonne Pollard-Wilson was convicted of sexual assault and was ordered to comply with the requirements of SOIRA (also known as Christopher’s Law) for ten years. He initially registered with the Peel Regional Police Sex Offender Registry on August 4, 2019, and last reported on January 5, 2021. His next due date for registration was extended to August 26, 2022. After his release from custody, he did not register as required.

As a result, a warrant for Mr. Pollard-Wilson's arrest was issued on November 7, 2022. On February 2, 2024, Halton Regional Police informed the Peel Regional Police that Mr. Pollard-Wilson was in their custody on unrelated charges. Peel Regional Police arrested him on the outstanding warrant.

9. The Hospital Report outlines Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s history and background and need not be repeated here in detail. In brief, Mr. Pollard-Wilson is 30 years old. He was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario but has also lived in the Greater Toronto Area. Mr. Pollard-Wilson has a biological sister. Sadly, Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s father died by suicide in 2003. Mr. Pollard-Wilson learned of this in early 2018. His stepmother, who entered his life when he was two years old, was in a common-law relationship with his father and they had two children together. After his father’s death, Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s stepmother remained involved in his life.

10. Mr. Pollard- Wilson completed grade 12. He has a substance use history for marijuana beginning in high school. Mr. Pollard-Wilson reports to having supported himself by doing various jobs. Collateral information indicates that Mr. Pollard-Wilson experienced significant instability in his living situation throughout his adult life. He lived with various family members, including an aunt, his stepmother, and his biological mother. He also spent time homeless, in shelters, incarcerated, and in mental health facilities. It is unclear where Mr. Pollard-Wilson resided after his release from custody in 2022.

11. Mr. Pollard -Wilson has a criminal record beginning in 2019, which includes convictions for assault (x2), theft under $5000, sexual assault and robbery. In 2021, he was convicted of criminal harassment and fail to comply with probation. In 2022, he was convicted of robbery.

12. Between January 20, and February 20, 2018, Mr. Pollard-Wilson attended Brampton Civic Hospital on three occasions. On one of these occasions, he was admitted overnight. The stated reasons for the visits were for depression, suicidal thoughts, and deliberate self-harm, paranoia, not eating or sleeping, and wandering the streets at night, grieving his father's death, increased use of cannabis and alcohol and conflicts with his family. He reported hearing voices from his father and Satan and expressed a desire to obtain a gun for protection.

13. On April 12 to June 1, 2018, Mr. Pollard-Wilson was admitted to Ontario Shores under a Treatment Order due to multiple criminal charges. On June 15, to July 6, 2018, Mr. Pollard-Wilson was transported to the emergency room at Mackenzie Health, by police. He was experiencing bizarre behaviour during a break and enter and placed on a Form 1 for assessment under the Mental Health Act (MHA). At the time of his discharge, Mr. Pollard-Wilson was deemed no longer certifiable under the MHA.

14. On March 25, to April 26, 2021, Mr. Pollard-Wilson was transferred from the Niagara Detention Centre to St. Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton for a psychological assessment in respect of criminal charges. During his stay at St. Joseph’s, he displayed inconsistencies in reporting auditory hallucinations. Additionally, he frequently altered details about his personal history, such as whether he had children, and became irritable when questioned about these contradictions. He was eventually discharged back to the detention centre.

15. Mr. Pollard-Wilson was first admitted to Waypoint on a Treatment Order, on August 1, 2024. He returned to Waypoint on a Warrant of Committal on October 2, 2024. Mr. Pollard-Wilson was assessed as incapable to consent to treatment on October 7, 2024. His mother is his substitute decision maker (“SDM”).

16. Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s psychiatric diagnoses are schizophrenia, and cannabis use disorder– moderate, in remission in a controlled environment.

Course during the year

17. Mr. Pollard-Wilson has remained under the care of Dr. Komer throughout his hospitalization. The Hospital Report indicates that since October 2, 2024, Mr. Pollard-Wilson has refused all oral medications. He remains incapable to consent to treatment, and his mother is his substitute decision maker. His SDM had been reluctant to agree to injectable medication and on October 23, 2025, a Form G was completed by Dr. Komer to determine his mother’s compliance as a substitute decision maker. Recently, Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s mother reconsidered her position regarding injectable medication, providing her consent for the medication, and the Form G has since been rescinded.

18. Similar to the prior reporting period, Mr. Pollard-Wilson continues to represent with a flat and dysphoric affect, and it remains challenging for staff to obtain a comprehensive or accurate mental status assessment due to his unwillingness to engage. Mr. Pollard-Wilson has been observed to respond to unseen stimuli gesturing or laughing loudly without the presence of staff or co-patients. There have been occurrences of sexually inappropriate behaviour toward female staff requiring redirection and health teaching, with limited impact. Mr. Pollard-Wilson remains selectively mute with staff and minimally engages. He does sometimes gesture or nod in response to attempted interactions.

19. Mr. Pollard-Wilson was secluded from January 30, 2025, to August 26, 2025, after increasing noncompliant and maladaptive behaviours. During this time, an external seclusion consultation was undertaken by Dr. Y. Naidoo. Mr. Pollard-Wilson has not participated in any structured therapy groups and his involvement in recreational programming activities has been limited.

Analysis

20. The Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Bharwani 2025 SCC 26 has recently held that to be fit to stand trial an accused must be able to make reality-based decisions in the conduct of their defence and intelligibly communicate these decisions to counsel or the court. This requires a reality-based understanding of the nature or object and possible consequences of the proceedings, as well as an ability to understand the available options and their consequences, and to select between those options when making decisions. The accused is not required to make decisions in their best interests, but cannot be overwhelmed by delusions, hallucinations, or other symptoms of their mental disorder when making and communicating these decisions (para 77).

21. The Court further stated that the key issue in most fitness hearings before the Board is whether the accused’s mental disorder prevents them from conducting a defence (para 33). The “capacity” required to make these decisions includes “a reality-based understanding of the nature or object of the proceedings and their possible consequences, an ability to understand the available options and their consequences, and an ability to select between those options when making a decision (para 61). The Court further clarified that fitness test questions are only sufficient in relation to the criteria set out in s. 2 of the Criminal Code. The purpose of s. 2 is to ensure that the accused can be meaningfully present and meaningfully participate at their trial.

22. The Board accepts the testimony of Dr. Komer as supported by the Hospital Report and finds that Mr. Pollard-Wilson remains unfit to stand trial. Mr. Pollard-Wilson continues to be mute and does not engage with the treatment team. Dr. Komer testified that he had assessed Mr. Pollard-Wilson for fitness the day before the hearing and on the morning of the hearing and Mr. Pollard-Wilson remains mute. Mr. Pollard-Wilson primarily communicates by nodding his assent or dissent. In this fashion, he has indicated that he understands the court process, but Dr. Komer testified that, in his view, it would not be possible for him to communicate with counsel or with the court. While there is a wilful component to Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s mutism, Dr. Komer does not believe that Mr. Pollard-Wilson is malingering. He chooses not to communicate because he is concerned that he will not make sense. It is Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s schizophrenia that gives rise to that concern.

23. The outstanding charge is not complex and likely would not require a high degree of understanding for a person to be able to effectively instruct counsel or to communicate with the court. Notwithstanding, the Board accepts the evidence of Dr. Komer that because of his mutism (as a consequence of his mental illness), Mr. Pollard-Wilson would not be able to communicate meaningfully with counsel or the court. For these reasons, the Board finds that Mr. Pollard-Wilson remains unfit to stand trial.

24. Mr. Pollard-Wilson had been unmedicated for a substantial period. Fortunately, Mr. Pollard-Wilson has now been started on long-acting injectable medication (Invega Sustenna) and received injections on November 5, and November 20, 2025. Going forward he will have injections every 28 days. Dr. Komer testified that there has already been some improvement in Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s presentation noting that he has come off the unit more and has participated in a basketball game. There have also been some verbal utterances, although he generally remains mute. With further injections, it is hoped that he will continue to improve.

25. The Board has considered the difficult behaviour exhibited by Mr. Pollard-Wilson in the year in review requiring a lengthy seclusion. The Board has also considered the hospital’s position that he is no longer ready to transfer to a less secure forensic hospital. However, given Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s recent improvement in a short period of time and recognizing that the waiting list for transfers to less secure facilities are very long, the Board finds that Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s current disposition remains necessary and appropriate. Should Mr. Pollard-Wilson continue to improve it is likely he will no longer require detention at a maximum secure forensic facility in the year ahead.

26. The hospital submitted that rather than allowing his transfer to Ontario Shores a prehearing conference could be held in six months to consider his progress. However, this would have the unfortunate consequence of removing Mr. Pollard-Wilson from the Ontario Shores waiting list and this would not serve him well. Ontario Shores is closer to his family and Mr. Pollard-Wilson will have more opportunity to visit with them, if he so wishes. Alternatively, should a bed become available for him at Ontario Shores, and Mr. Pollard-Wilson has not continued to improve as hoped it is open to the hospital to ask for an early hearing and for the Board to reconsider its disposition at that time. The Board considers this to be the necessary and appropriate way forward.

27. The Board has concerns with respect to the way in which fitness coaching is initiated. The evidence is unclear as to whether this is done on a random basis or whether there is systematic regular fitness coaching. It is notable, that Mr. Pollard-Wilson’s outstanding charge is at the less serious end of the scale and that he has now spent far more time under the Board than any sentence he would likely receive should he be convicted of the charge. With the introduction of the long-acting medication the Board is hopeful that consistent and regular attention will be paid to fitness coaching in the year ahead.

28. For the foregoing reasons, the Board finds that Mr. Pollard-Wilson is unfit to stand trial and there should be no change to his current disposition.

DATED this 22nd day of December 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.

Ms. J. Mills Alternate Chairperson

Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board