Ontario Review Board
Re: Roger A. Guppy
ORB File No: 8017
Hearing held on: Friday, June 6, 2025
Place of hearing: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. L. Banks
Members: Dr. S. Chatterjee
Dr. M. Kalia
Mr. D. D’Intino
Mr. S. Duffy
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Roger A. Guppy
Counsel: Ms. S. Dubb
Person in charge of the Hospital: Counsel: Mr. K. Dow
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. N. MacDonald
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated June 19, 2025)
Introduction
On January 22, 2022, Roger Guppy was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on two counts of failing to comply with probation contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.
Mr. Guppy is currently subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (“ORB” or the “Board”) dated June 11, 2024, detaining him within the Forensic Service of the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (“Ontario Shores” or the “hospital”) with discretionary privileges up to and including the ability to live in the community in supervised accommodation approved by person in charge of the hospital. His Disposition also contains a prohibition on Mr. Guppy contacting or communicating, directly or indirectly, with Mr. Winston Guppy, Ms. Indra Guppy and Mrs. Indira Guppy, save and except with their written revocable consent.
On June 6, 2025, the Board convened an annual hearing pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code to determine whether Mr. Guppy continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and, if so, the necessary and appropriate Disposition. Mr. Guppy was present at the hearing and represented by his counsel, Ms. Dubb.
For the reasons that follow, the Board finds that Mr. Guppy continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, and that the necessary and appropriate Disposition is a continuation of his existing Detention Order.
Index Offences:
- The circumstances of the index offence as taken from the last year’s Reasons for Disposition dated July 4, 2024, as follows:
“On Tuesday, May 25, 2021, approximately 15:03 hours, officers were to dispatched to 199 Eson St. in Markham regarding a domestic family incident.
The complained, Indira Guppy and her husband locked themselves in a washroom located in the master bedroom to call police because their son, Roger Guppy, had broken into their residence at the address.
Officers arrived on scene and noticed forced entry on the side door located on the west side of the house. When attempting to enter, officers identify themselves as police but noticed the side door was barricaded by household items, and they had to forcefully push through the door. When inside the house, officers noticed the home had been ransacked, and the panel of the side door was broken. The front door was also barricaded by large household items and furniture. When inside the house, officers noticed the home had been ransacked, and the panel of the side door was broken. The front door was also barricaded by large household items and furniture. Mr. Guppy was standing at the top of the staircase, and yelling obscenities to officers, telling them to leave while throwing household items down the stairs.
Officers questioned his identity, and Mr. Guppy verbally identified himself. At that point Mr. Guppy was placed under arrest for breach, as well as being on an endorsed warrant from the Toronto Police Service.
When officers arrested Mr. guppy, the complainant came out of the washroom to speak to officers. They advised that Mr. guppy had entered the backyard shed to retrieve a sledgehammer which he used to forcefully enter the home from the side door. He then began taught taking furniture to barricade the front and side door. When he entered the house, he was enraged that his parents were locked in the washroom, causing him to smash the television in the master bedroom.
Mr. guppy was transported back to 5 District, where he was booked and placed in a cell. When officers were locking the cell door, Mr. Guppy struck an officer on the right side of the jaw, with his closed right fist through the cell bars, resulting in an additional charge of Assault Police Officer.
The Hospital Report also sets out the details of the offences which led to the imposition of the probation orders, as follows:
“The following was obtained from the R. v. Roger Guppy Reasons for Judgement before the Honourable Justice C. Pirraglia at new market, ON, on July 22, 2020:
Mr. Guppy was charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, and assault against his father, Winston Guppy, as well as a further count of assault with a weapon against his sister, Indira Guppy. These charges were incurred on October 17, 2019. Mr. girl be represented himself in court. He “did not testify, I’ve called no evidence, and made no submissions.”
The testimony of Mr. Guppy’s father and sister were summarized in the cab reasons for cab charge meant. Do you briefly summarize the circumstances of the charges, Mr. Guppy was “angry”, enter his father’s bedroom, and punched him in the face near his eye. When his sister returned home from work that evening, she entered her father’s room to say good night and noticed his injuries. She exited his room where she encountered Mr. top guppy in the hallway. He then “began to punch and kick her.” Their father intervened, and Mr. Guppy, then “punch[ed] and hit him about the upper body and head.” Mr. Guppy’s sister returned to their father’s bedroom to retrieve her phone. When she again exited the room, Mr. Guppy hit her on the shoulder and elbow with a heavy glass vase. Their father, again, intervened and Mr. Guppy began hitting him again with the glass vase. He hit his father in the head with the vase, causing his father to fall to the ground, unconscious. Mr. Guppy’s sister called 911 and locked herself in her father’s bedroom until police arrived. Mr. Guppy’s father regained consciousness and Mr. Guppy fled before the police arrived.
Mr. Guppy was convicted of assault and assault with a weapon against his father, and assault with a weapon against his sister. He was acquitted on the charge of aggravated assault, but convicted on the lesser charge of assault causing bodily harm, due to the nature of the injury, sustained by Winston Guppy.
Mr. Guppy was found not guilty on two charges of FTC Probation. Justice Pirraglia wrote “Mr. Guppy suffers from serious mental disorder. There is no dispute that his mental disorder played a large role in his unprovoked attack on his father and sister. I have convicted him of assault and assault with a weapon, and he has served a lengthy period of pretrial custody for those offences. The fact that he has also failed to keep the peace in accordance with his two outstanding probation orders is a triviality in the circumstances. No public good is served by saddling Mr. Guppy with two additional convictions for failure to comply with probation. I dismissed the two counts of failure to comply with probation based on the de minimus principles: The law is not concerned with trivialities."
Background Information:
The Hospital Report, dated May 28, 2025 (the “Hospital Report”), was made an exhibit and need not be reviewed in these reasons beyond the following highlights. Mr. Guppy is a 46-year-old man who was born and raised in Toronto, the eldest in a sibline of four. He was raised in the family home and by all accounts had an unremarkable early childhood.
His family began to notice changes in his behaviour when he entered high school. He was using substances and got into fights, resulting in suspensions from school. He had violent outbursts towards his family and exhibited environmental aggression around the house.
Mr. Guppy graduated from high school and ultimately received a diploma in an electrical course at Humber College. He worked in various electrical construction jobs. In 2014, he fell and broke his knee and elbow and has not worked since. He is currently supported through the Ontario Disability Support Program (“ODSP”).
Mr. Guppy has a criminal record that includes multiple convictions for assault, assault with a weapon, uttering threats and failing to comply with probation. The previous assaults in August of 2020 against his father and sister are striking in their similarity to the index offences.
In October 2010, Mr. Guppy was found NCR on a charge of harassing phone calls and admitted to Ontario Shores. He was discharged to reside in the family home in February 2012, and referred to an Assertive Community Treatment Team (“ACTT”). He was granted an Absolute Discharge following his November 26, 2012 ORB hearing.
Between his discharge from the ORB in 2012 and his arrest in 2021, Mr. Guppy had multiple admissions to hospital, often in the context of non-compliance with medication. He presented as angry, paranoid and aggressive towards hospital staff. His family reported that when he became noncompliant, he would experience a rapid deterioration and would become violent and threatening towards them and destructive within the family home. Mr. Guppy was assessed by a number of psychiatrists. There was no consistent diagnosis or determination whether he suffered from a psychotic disorder.
Following the NCR finding on the most recent index offences, Mr. Guppy was admitted to Ontario Shores under a Warrant of Committal on January 22, 2022. He was found incapable with respect to treatment decisions. His mother is his substitute decision maker (“SDM”).
Current Diagnoses:
- His current diagnoses are:
Schizophrenia; and
Other Specified Personality Disorder.
Evidence at the Hearing:
The evidence on behalf of the hospital was presented by Dr. B. Chuong. She has been Mr. Guppy’s treating psychiatrist since January 2024 and is the co-author of the Hospital Report which was filed as an Exhibit. Dr. Chuong advised that there were no material updates to the Hospital Report.
Mr. Guppy remained detained on the Forensic Community Reintegration Unit over the past reporting period. He has not engaged in any threatening or aggressive behaviour during this reporting year and has not required seclusion. He has behaved appropriately on group outings.
Dr. Chuong testified that Mr. Guppy remains assessed as incapable to consent to his psychiatric treatment and his mother acts as his substitute decision maker (“SDM”). He has been compliant with his medication, which is a long-acting injectable (“LAI”) antipsychotic medication, which he receives every 28 days.
Despite medication, Mr. Guppy continues to experience grandiose delusions including, that he owns the family home, various hospitals, including Ontario Shores, and other properties. He has not been observed responding to unseen stimuli. Mr. Guppy has consistently denied experiencing perceptual disturbances, suicidal and/or violent ideations, plan, or intent. Dr. Chuong advised there has been some consideration of increasing the frequency of his LAI to optimize his treatment.
Treatment with Clozapine was considered but determined to be less desirable given Mr. Guppy’s history of chronic non-compliance with oral medications. As has been the case in the past, Mr. Guppy has remained compliant with his LAI medication under substitute consent primarily because of his ORB Disposition but he has stated that he does not plan to continue with treatment once he is absolutely discharged.
Mr. Guppy has been able to use his indirectly supervised privileges on hospital grounds to attend groups on a regular basis. Mr. Guppy does not have an Approved Person. It is not clear what level of contact he has with his parents (the victims of the index offences) although they did come to visitation him when he was briefly hospitalized in the summer of 2024 after having experienced an “altered level of consciousness”. Dr. Chuong stated that although Mr. Guppy denied any substance use during that time frame, the team remained suspicious.
Mr. Guppy has attended a number of therapeutic and recreational groups over the year and is typically described by group facilitators as “quiet and engaged”. As well, since January 2025, he has been participating in weekly individual therapy sessions with the goal of challenging his delusional beliefs. Mr. Guppy has made gains in his individual therapy, particularly in developing coping skills for anxiety and depression that he is currently putting into practice. He is noted to be quite forthcoming in these sessions and he was commended by the doctor. Some of these improvements an be attributed to his medication compliance.
Despite not having a formal diagnosis of substance abuse disorder, Mr. Guppy has struggled with abstinence from substances over the reporting year. In July 2024, his urine drug screen (“UDS”) returned positive for cocaine. In response, his indirectly supervised privileges were placed on a temporary hold. The following month, on August 8, 2024, a unit search was conducted and it was traces of cocaine, THC and lidocaine were present in his closet. Mr. Guppy denied knowledge of same and he denied use.
Mr. Guppy’s UDS of January 14, 2025 also returned positive for cocaine. On this occasion, he acknowledged using cocaine when out on an indirectly supervised pass on hospital grounds. Again, his indirectly supervised privileges were placed on a temporary hold for one week.
More recently, on May 1, 2025, his UDS returned positive for cocaine and he acknowledged his use and expressed his desire to stay in from illicit substance use. His indirectly, supervised privileges were again put on hold for one week.
Dr. Chuong stated that no changes in his presentation were observed by staff following the occasions of Mr. Guppy’s cocaine use. The doctor commented that even at his baseline, it is difficult to assess Mr. Guppy as he is so guarded.
More recently, approximately three weeks ago, Mr. Guppy has re-engaged in a Concurrent Disorders group to address his substance abuse challenges.
Mr. Guppy has also had multiple incidents of him smoking on the unit. He has been caught smoking in the shower and on the balcony.
Mr. Guppy remains on the waitlist for Durham Mental Health Services (“DMHS”) housing and it is likely that he will be offered a bed at either McKay House or Ballantyne House. In the spring of 2025, beds were available at both residences but DMHS did not think he was an eligible candidate for discharge to either of these residences at that time given his ongoing substance use. Mr. Guppy continues to work with his Forensic Transitional Case Manager in order to prepare for his discharge to community living.
Dr. Chuong advised that Mr. Guppy is still on the DMHS waitlist, apparently near the top of it. The importance of abstinence from substance use has been re-emphasized in order for him to be considered an eligible candidate. Dr. Chuong stated that he requires a high level of on-site staff supervision on his initial transition to the community.
Mr. Guppy has limited and fluctuating insight into his mental illness, his risk for violence, and the need for ongoing treatment. Over the year in review, he has disagreed with the diagnosis of schizophrenia and, at other times, he has endorsed both his diagnosis and the importance of adherence with his medications. Overall, the doctor stated that his insight is superficial. Most often, he minimizes the events of the index offences and denies that he was experiencing psychotic symptoms at that time.
The doctor advised that most likely re-offence scenario is that Mr. Guppy would stop his medication, relapse into psychosis and, as in the past, become aggressive and violent towards both people and property.
According to the Risk Assessment, Mr. Guppy is considered a “Moderate to High” risk to reoffend violently if he were to be managed under a Conditional Discharge. He would remain a “low to moderate risk” for violence under the recommended Disposition. Dr. Chuong endorsed this conclusion.
In summary, Dr. Chuong confirmed that the clinical team requires the ability to approve his housing in the community at such time as he is ready for discharge to ensure that it will provide him with sufficient support, structure and monitoring to manage his risk. Further, the treatment team requires the ability to rapidly readmit him to the hospital should medication non-adherence be of concern. It is the opinion of the treatment team that civil commitment measures under the Mental Health Act (“MHA”) would not adequately address these risks. The doctor expressed her opinion that Mr. Guppy would be unlikely to comply with a request from the treatment team to return to the hospital voluntarily. Dr. Chuong stated that in her opinion Mr. Guppy’s risk to the safety of the public would be high were he could be conditionally discharged.
No further evidence was called by the parties.
Analysis and Conclusions:
The Board has carefully considered the Hospital Report, the evidence of Dr. Chuong and the joint recommendation of the parties, and finds that Mr. Guppy continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public. Mr. Guppy suffers from a mental illness, namely schizophrenia. Notwithstanding compliance with medication, he continues to experience residual symptoms, including delusions. He has stated on a number of occasions that he does not suffer from Schizophrenia and intends to discontinue his medication in a matter of months.
Should Mr. Guppy cease taking his medication he would experience a rapid decompensation in his mental status and likely would engage in threatening and aggressive conduct, similar to the index offences.
The Board is mindful of the events following Mr. Guppy’s discharge from the Board’s jurisdiction in 2012. He terminated follow-up with psychiatric services in 2012 and from 2016 to 2021, he was largely untreated. While overt psychotic symptoms were not always clearly apparent, his behaviour was quite unstable during this time period, with multiple admission to hospital, elopements, reports of aggressive behaviour towards family members, and the presence of additional charges.
When unwell, his family members are particularly vulnerable to his aggression. Aside from the index offences, Mr. Guppy also has a history of convictions in relation to incidents of violence and many of these incidents involved aggression towards family members. Of note, the Hospital Report indicates that “… some of Mr. Guppy’s previous incidents of aggressive behaviour did not appear to have been clearly linked with active psychotic symptoms. Past assessors have queried whether characterological considerations (e.g. narcissistic and/or personality traits) may have additionally impacted his presentation.”
Having found that Mr. Guppy represents a significant threat to the safety of the public, the Board must consider the necessary and appropriate disposition taking into consideration the criteria set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code, which includes the need to protect the public from dangerous persons, the mental condition of the accused, the integration of the accused into society and other needs of the accused.
This has been somewhat of a challenging year for Mr. Guppy. He is to be credited for not engaging in any incidents of aggression over the year. He has also remained medication compliant, albeit under substitute consent; however, as stated in the Hospital Report, “… there have been multiple rule infractions, including repeated violations of unit smoking policies and possession of contraband items such as cigarettes and a lighter. In January 2025, and again in April 2025, Mr. Guppy’s privileges were suspended following urine drug screens that tested positive for cocaine. During the current review, his privileges have also been held on several occasions due to the submission of diluted urine samples submitted for toxicology screening.”
Mr. Guppy’s existing Disposition contains a discretion privilege allowing him to reside in supervised housing in the community. Unfortunately, over the past year, his relapses into substance use have caused concerns for potential housing providers. The Hospital Report indicates that “… at the time of the present assessment, Mr. Guppy maintains that he owns his parents’ property and therefore has a lawful right to be there, raising concerns that he may again violate his conditions and return unsolicited to the family home…”. In this panel’s assessment, at the present time, Mr. Guppy’s risk to public safety mandates that he remains found by his existing Detention Order.
The Hospital continues to require the risk management tools afforded by a Detention Order. This Disposition allows the hospital to maintain oversight into his placement in the community as well as maintaining the ability to promptly readmit Mr. Guppy should he experience any decompensation in his mental state or relapse to substance use. We concur with the recommendation of the hospital that the civil commitment measures of the Mental Health Act would not adequately address Mr. Guppy’s risk profile.
In coming to this conclusion, the Board has taken into account the provisions of s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code, including the paramount factor of the safety of the public, Mr. Guppy’s reintegration into the community, his mental condition and his other needs.
DATED this 19th day of June 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. L. Banks
Alternate Chairperson
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Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board