Re: Jeffrey Amaral
ORB File No: 8176
Hearing held on: Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Place of hearing: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences 700 Gordon Street, Whitby
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. L. Banks Members: Dr. M. Kalia Dr. S. Chatterjee Mr. D. D’Intino Mr. S. Duffy
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Jeffrey Amaral Counsel: Ms. S. Dubb
The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. J. Pytyck
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. N. MacDonald
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated July 14, 2025)
Introduction
On April 23, 2024, Jeffrey Amaral was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) of Criminal Code charges of assaulting a peace officer (x2) and failing to comply with a probation order (x2), all contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.
At the time of the hearing, Mr. Amaral was subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated June 11, 2024, detaining him at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (“Ontario Shores”) with privileges up to indirectly supervised passes for up to 12 hours in the community, within a 150km radius of Ontario Shores.
On June 4, 2025, the Board convened a hearing in person at Ontario Shores Centre to conduct a hearing pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. The purpose of this hearing was to determine whether Mr. Amaral continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public and if so, to determine the necessary and appropriate Disposition, which is also the least onerous and least restrictive means to protect the public in consideration of the circumstances.
Current Psychiatric Diagnoses:
- Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Substance Abuse Disorder
Index Offences:
- The details of the index offences are extracted from the Hospital Report dated Apr 30, 2025, at pages 2-3, which are as follows:
“On July 9, 2022, Mr. Amaral attempted to fight a motorist who had stopped at the intersection of Kingston Road and Lawrence Avenue East in Toronto. He appeared to be in crisis and under the influence of drugs. As police arrived, Mr. Amaral fled on foot, running into traffic, risking harm to himself. He informed police officers about possessing a knife and an intent to cut his throat if they got too close. While officers apprehended him, he became violent, belligerent and kicked at officers. This led to two fail to comply charges. In addition, two officers were allegedly spat at by Mr. Amaral in the process apprehending him and transferring him to a hospital. Consequently, he was charged with two counts of assaulting a peace officer.”
Without Prejudice Position of the Parties:
At the commencement of the hearing, Dr. Pytyck presented the Hospital’s position, which was that a continuation of the existing Detention Order Disposition, with the addition of a community living privilege and a weekly reporting clause, was the necessary and appropriate Disposition for this gentleman. The Hospital and Crown also agreed to passes for up to 72 hours to enter the community with an Approved Person and subject to an itinerary approved by the Person In Charge.
Ms. McDonald for the Attorney General agreed with this position.
Counsel for the accused, Ms. Dubb also agreed, and thus the parties presented a joint recommendation for our consideration.
Evidence at the Hearing:
The Board had available the evidence and documents forming the Record, the Exhibits, and oral evidence from Dr. Jennifer Pytyck.
Dr. Pytyck adopted the contents of the Hospital Report, which he coauthored and was dated April 30, 2025.
Dr. Pytyck testified that she has been Mr. Amaral’s attending psychiatrist since he was transferred from a Secure Forensic Unit to the Forensic Treatment Unit (FTU), a General Forensic Unit, on November 19, 2024. Overall, he has done well on the FTU with only one notable incident in the past reporting year. The doctor commented that Mr. Amaral’s relatively good year in review must be seen in the context of his long-standing illness together with years of problems behaviours.
Mr. Amaral engaged in cannabis use over the May 3 and May 4, 2025, weekend, but to his credit, he voluntarily approached Dr. Pytyck to provide this information, and he was remorseful regarding his conduct. This incident did not result in any substantive change in his mental status. To his credit, following this incident, Mr. Amaral re-engaged in substance use programming as well as individual substance abuse counselling.
Dr. Pytyck confirmed that Mr. Amaral has been medication compliant and psychiatrically stable. He has been very involved in rehabilitative programming, taking multiple groups and attending individual therapy. He has also begun family intervention therapy (FIT) with his mother, and she has become an Approved Person for him.
In the coming year, Dr. Pytyck anticipates that an occupational therapy assessment will be completed, and Mr. Amaral will be placed on a waiting list for supervised housing, likely with DMHS or CMHA. She testified that a Detention Order is required to manage Mr. Amaral’s risk in the community, given his lengthy history of substance abuse and resultant psychiatric instability.
On this subject, and in response to a question from Ms. Dubb, Dr. Pytyck testified that there have been many instances in the past where cannabis use by Mr. Amaral occurred either just prior, or contemporaneously with, periods of extreme psychosis that resulted in acts of aggression toward the public. Dr. Pytyck was also clear that she felt that, while Mr. Amaral has a history of polysubstance abuse, there were periods of time when he was psychotic after using only cannabis and alcohol, and no other substances.
In response to panel questions, Dr. Pytyck agreed that in the Hospital Report, it is stated that Mr. Amaral self-reported using 1 gram of cannabis on the day of the index offences and no other substances, and that, on the day of the offence, he reported intensified auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions. Dr. Pytyck was of the view that cannabis alone increases Mr. Amaral’s risk of violence toward himself and others.
The doctor testified that the Detention Order remains the necessary and appropriate disposition as the Hospital requires the ongoing authority to approve Mr. Amaral’s placement in the community when he is ready for discharge in order to ensure that he receives the requisite level of supervision, monitoring and support in order to safely manage his risk. As well, the Hospital requires the ability to rapidly readmit Mr. Amaral should he present with signs of decompensation whether as a result of substance use, breakthrough symptoms, or otherwise.
Analysis and Conclusions
Having heard and considered the entirety of the evidence as well as the submissions from the parties, the panel agrees with the joint submission: Mr. Amaral remains a significant threat to the safety of the public and a Detention Order Disposition with privileges up to and including community living in approved accommodations is the least onerous and least restrictive option in consideration of all of the circumstances.
Mr. Amaral suffers from schizoaffective disorder, borderline personality disorder and a substance abuse disorder. In the past, he has struggled with cannabis use which has caused or exacerbated auditory hallucinations and delusional beliefs which led directly to the index offences.
He has a history of mental health related hospitalizations, self-harming behaviour, periods of homelessness, medication noncompliance, along with sexually inappropriate or threatening commentary and physical aggression while in hospitals and in the community, which in some cases required the use of both chemical and physical restraints.
In 2023, Mr. Amaral scored in the high range on the PCL-R 2nd edition, reflecting that he has traits and behaviours associated with psychopathy. That being said, his overall risk has been assessed as being low in the context of community living in a 24-hour supervised group home.
The panel further finds that the provisions of the Mental Health Act would be insufficient to return Mr. Amaral to the Hospital quickly in the event of a deterioration in his mental status, and the evidence indicates that he would not readmit himself voluntarily if he experienced a decompensation in his mental status.
Therefore, the panel agrees with the joint recommendation that Mr. Amaral remains a significant threat to the safety of the public and that a Detention Order Disposition with the aforementioned terms is the necessary and appropriate, least onerous and least restrictive Disposition in consideration of all of the circumstances.
Additionally, the panel agrees with the parties, that Mr. Amaral should be granted passes to enter the community for up to 72 hours, with an Approved Person and subject to an itinerary approved of by the Person In Charge.
DATED this 14th day of July 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Mr. D. D’Intino Legal Member
___________________________ Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board