Re Camelott Hamblett, 2025 CanLII 78494

Ontario Review Board

Re: Camelott Hamblett

ORB File No: 4850

Hearing held on: Thursday, May 8, 2025

Place of hearing: Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care 500 Church Street, Penetanguishene

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

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Ms. C. Finley Members: Dr. K. Hand Dr. L.O. Lightfoot Ms. M. Chamberlain Mr. J. Cyr

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Camelott Hamblett Counsel: Mr. A. Rai (via Zoom)

The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Ms. J. Lefebvre

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. J. Armenise

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated August 6, 2025)

1. On August 7, 2007, Camelot Hamblett was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on a charge of sexual assault and two charges of assault, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (the "Criminal Code").

2. Mr. Hamblett is currently subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated May 29, 2024, detaining him at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care – High Secure Provincial Forensic Programs, Penetanguishene, (“Waypoint” or the “Hospital”) with hospital grounds privileges, beyond the secure perimeter, escorted by staff.

3. On Thursday, May 8, 2025, the Ontario Review Board convened a hearing at Waypoint pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Hamblett was in attendance and was represented by his counsel, Mr. Rai. Mr. Hamblett’s sister and mother were also in attendance.

Position of the Parties

1. Ms. Lefebvre, on behalf of the hospital, recommended no change to Mr. Hamblett’s current Disposition. This position was supported by Ms. Armenise, on behalf of the Ministry of the Attorney General.

2. Mr. Rai took not position regarding the Hospital’s position but was seeking an order from the Board for an independent assessment on his client as there was concern that Mr. Hamblett had reached a treatment impasse with his current team.

Background and Index Offences:

1. Mr. Hamblett is a 43-year-old man who was born in Toronto. He is the oldest in a sibline of three. He has two younger sisters; one five years younger and the other fifteen years younger. Mr. Hamblett’s biological father separated from the family and later remarried. His mother immigrated to Canada from Jamaica.

2. As a child, Mr. Hamblett attended school regularly. He did reasonably well in middle school and completed Grade 10. He then began refusing to attend school. It was felt this was mostly a result of a 1999 altercation where his lower lip was bitten off, which affected his physical appearance. It was also at this time that symptoms of Mr. Hamblett’s mental illness began to surface.

3. Prior to the index offences in 1998, Mr. Hamblett assaulted his step-father. Mr. Hamblett was charged in response to this assault. He was placed on a restraining order and prohibited from entering the building where his mother and step-father were residing. His mother’s relationship with the step-father ended after the assault.

4. Mr. Hamblett’s current psychiatric diagnoses are:

• Schizophrenia

• Cocaine and Cannabis Use Disorders, in sustained remission in a controlled environment

10. The circumstances of the index offences are taken from the most recent Reasons for Disposition, as follows:

“On June 29, 2004, Mr. Hamblett approached a woman on the street and told her she was going to come with him and have sex. Mr. Hamblett grabbed the woman and attempted to drag her away but she broke free, ran to a nearby house and banged on the door. Mr. Hamblett followed and pulled her away from the house. She ran into the street to try and get help from a motorist but Mr. Hamblett banged on the cars that stopped and scared the drivers away. The woman returned to the house and this time when she got to the door managed to hang on the door handle. The police synopsis states:

As the accused could not get the victim to let go of the handle, he pulled his pants down and stated to the victim they were going to have sex right now and threw her to the ground. The victim observed the accused to have an erect penis and she continued to yell for help.

Mr. Hamblett fled when he saw two people across the street watching him.”

Evidence at Hearing:

1. The evidence at the hearing consisted of the Hospital Report dated April 9, 2025, as well as the testimony of Dr. Bouskill.

2. Mr. Hamblett’s progress since his last annual review is summarized in the Hospital Report as follows:

“Mr. Hamblett’s mental status has been unstable this review period, consistent with his treatment refractory illness, as well as multiple medication changes. Mr. Hamblett tends to mumble, making it difficult to understand what he is saying; he becomes frustrated and agitated when unable to communicate his thoughts. Mr. Hamblett is more vocal when in his room; when he is burdened by psychotic symptoms. Outside of his room, he tends to stare blankly and is often unresponsive to staff on these occasions. Mr. Hamblett has a full range of emotional expression, laughing, crying, and screaming through the day, dependent on his experiences in the moment. He experiences ongoing auditory and visual hallucinations, and is frequently heard and observed responding to stimuli in his room. His experiences are distressful to him, and at times he is seen crying…

Mr. Hamblett experiences command hallucinations as well; he occasionally reported that the voices were telling him to harm others: “The voices are telling me to fight staff” (April 4, 2024); “I am not having a good day. The voices are telling me to fight” (June 4, 2024); “The voices are telling me to fight and I don’t want to come out” (June 27, 2024); “My cousin’s telling me to kill you” (November 25, 2024 His concentration is poor. He lacks insight into his illness and need for medications, though is generally compliant with the latter. “

1. Ms. Lefebvre called Dr. Bouskill to give evidence on behalf of the hospital. Dr. Bouskill took over Mr. Hamblett’s care from Dr. Muraven in December 2024. The doctor confirmed that she had read and was in agreement with the contents of the Hospital Report. Dr. Bouskill informed the Board that Mr. Hamblett had remained in seclusion over the past reporting period and continues to require restraints while on seclusion relief.

2. Dr. Bouskill updated the Board that since the Hospital Report was prepared, there had been three additional incidents of physical aggression toward staff members. The staff were not significantly injured and Mr. Hamblett’s behaviour did appear to be motivated by internal experiences. These incidents occurred while Mr. Hamblett was on seclusion relief; on two occasions he kicked out at staff members and on one occasion he reached out towards the staff with a closed fist. When discussing the aggression with Mr. Hamblett, he gave explanations that were not based in reality.

3. A further update was that Mr. Hamblett had had two more visits with his family in the last month. Both visits had gone well.

4. Dr. Bouskill noted that Mr. Hamblett is incapable of consenting to treatment and his mother is his substitute decision maker. Dr. Bouskill has had conversations with Mr. Hamblett’s mother about making changes to Mr. Hamblett’s medication to assist him with his mental health symptoms. Mr. Hamblett is currently on 4 different anti-psychotic medications, a mood stabilizer, medication to assist him with sleep and medication aimed at counteracting the side effects of the anti-psychotic medication.

5. Dr. Bouskill stated that she would not be opposed to obtaining an independent consultation for Mr. Hamblett but was not sure what benefit this would be given the consultations already obtained by the Hospital. She noted that Dr. De Frietas conducted external consultations in 2022 and 2024. The Hospital had tried some of Dr. De Frietas’ recommendations from the 2024 consultation over the past reporting period. In addition to the external consultation, the Hospital has non-treating doctors conduct seclusion reviews every 28 days while Mr. Hamblett remains in seclusion. This means that there have been 12 assessments of Mr. Hamblett’s circumstances in the last year. Mr. Hamblett also had a more extensive consultation by Dr. Shim in 2015. During that year, genetic testing was also obtained.

6. When Dr. Bouskill took over care of Mr. Hamblett in December 2024, she met with his previous doctor to review his care and met with his treatment team to understand Mr. Hamblett and to understand his struggles. She also met with pharmacy to go through Mr. Hamblett’s lengthy medication history.

7. Dr. Bouskill noted that Mr. Hamblett had been in seclusion for the entire review period. For much of the year, he had been able to come out for seclusion relief without restraints. In January, after an incident, restraints had been added again. The doctor noted that Mr. Hamblett had been positive for Covid just prior to the incident which might have caused some decompensation in him.

8. The transition to Dr. Bouskill in December 2024 went well for Mr. Hamblett. He was willing and able to engage with Dr. Bouskill. He has a number of staff who he gets along well with but can have a hard time with new staff or changes in his routine. The Hospital is careful to ensure that Mr. Hamblett’s schedule remains largely the same each day.

9. Mr. Hamblett has had less seclusion relief during the past reporting year. The doctor stated that the Hospital is working to further optimize his medication and has reengaged the services of a behavioural therapist to help increase the time that Mr. Hamblett spends out of seclusion. When he is on seclusion relief, Mr. Hamblett likes to speak with his family and listen to music.

10. Mr. Hamblett’s family is very important to him. He has had increased in-person visits with his mother, father, sister and cousins in the past year. The Hospital is happy to see the family’s involvement and notes that it improves Mr. Hamblett’s mood. He also is able to have Zoom visits and phone calls with his family.

11. Mr. Hamblett had a difficult past year vis-à-vis his mental health as well as physically. He experienced a previous improvement between 2017 and 2020 and the Hospital is looking to return him to that level of functioning with medication changes. It is not expected that improvements will occur quickly.

12. Dr. Bouskill confirmed the Hospital’s position that Mr. Hamblett should remain at Waypoint for the coming year. She noted that with his current symptoms and the level of support he requires, Waypoint is the best place for him to be. Mr. Hamblett benefits from the amount of seclusion relief available to him at Waypoint. He would not have as much freedom at another placement.

13. The doctor did not agree that the Hospital was at an impasse with regards to Mr. Hamblett’ treatment. She stated that in the coming review period, she hoped to see some progress in addressing Mr. Hamblett’s symptoms.

14. Ms. Armenise questioned whether an anti-depressant would be helpful for Mr. Hamblett. The doctor agreed that this could be helpful but noted that his violent behaviours appear to be driven by his impulsivity. She also noted that he experiences anxiety and when he is acutely unwell, Mr. Hamblett engages in sexually inappropriate behaviour. Dr. Bouskill stated that she would discuss this possibility with Mr. Hamblett’s substitute decision maker.

15. In response to Mr. Rai, Dr. Bouskill confirmed the following information:

• Mr. Hamblett had been at Waypoint since 2005, which was almost twenty years ago.

• Mr. Hamblett had been in seclusion for almost the entire time that he had been at the Hospital.

• In the last review period, Mr. Hamblett had only been out of seclusion on two occasions for about two hours each time.

• Long-term periods of seclusion can have negative effects on mental illness.

1. Mr. Rai asked the doctor to review the main recommendations made in 2024 by Dr. De Frietas which were listed in last year’s Reasons for Disposition:

• increase the dosage of clozapine;

• increase dosage of valproic acid;

• increase dosage of Loxapine while perhaps removing Risperdal;

• revisit ECT although in past this caused him to be more aggressive; and

• lower the dosage of clonazepam in order to provide Mr. Hamblett with better control and increase periods of seclusion relief.

1. Dr. Bouskill explained the Hospital’s response to each recommendation:

• Increase dosage of clozapine: The Hospital has not increased this medication as there were a number of periods of unidentified increasing levels of clozapine in Mr. Hamblett’s blood levels.

• Increase valproic acid and Loxapine: These medications were both increased but Mr. Hamblett’s symptoms worsened and were therefore lowered back to his previous dosages.

• Remove risperidone: Dr. Bouskill explained that this was not removed as the Hospital had attempted this in the previous year with no improvements to Mr. Hamblett.

• Revisit ECT (which was incorrectly listed as ACT in last years reasons): Dr. Bouskill stated that Mr. Hamblett’s SDM had not consented to this. The doctor further noted that, from reviewing Mr. Hamblett’s history, it looks like he has had a full course of ECT that was not helpful and led to increased aggression. Dr. Bouskill was not currently recommending ECT for Mr. Hamblett.

• Lower levels of clonazepam: The Hospital Report stated that this was being increased but Dr. Bouskill felt that that was inaccurate and would look into this further.

1. In response to questions from the Board, Dr. Bouskill stated that generally when one speaks of a treatment impasse, it means that the patient and team are unable to work together. She stated that this is not the case with Mr. Hamblett as he has a good relationship with his doctor and many of the staff at the Hospital. Dr. Bouskill thinks that there are treatment options still available to Mr. Hamblett and the Hospital is committed to searching for ways to optimize his medication.

2. Dr. Boushill did not think that an external assessment would be of any benefit to the treatment team. She did say that more input from a behavioural therapist could be helpful but stated that this was something that the Hospital was already aware of and looking to obtain.

3. Dr. Bouskill agreed with the Board that pharmacogenetic testing may be something that could be useful for Mr. Hamblett. She noted that he had had this completed during an external consultation ten years prior, but that there would be benefit to getting this updated.

4. Finally, Dr. Bouskill was asked what she felt would happen if Mr. Hamblett went back to the Toronto West Detention Centre which is where he has stated he would like to go. The doctor stated that Mr. Hamblett benefits from close monitoring and if he were to transfer to a detention centre, he would be likely to discontinue his medications which would lead to a significant deterioration in his mental state. He would also likely have access to substances and this would lead to a further decompensation. Dr. Bouskill noted that Mr. Hamblett is a very vulnerable individual.

Final Submissions:

1. In closing, Ms. Lefebvre submitted that Mr. Hamblett remained a significant threat to the safely of the public due to his ongoing aggression towards staff and that the existing detention order should continue for the upcoming year. Counsel noted that Mr. Hamblett is supported in the high secure forensic program at Waypoint. He has staff who know him well and understand his routines and needs. The Hospital has tried many of the recommendations made by Dr. De Frietas but he has not returned to his previous state of wellness as exhibited in 2017. Ms. Lefebvre noted that Dr. Bouskill is taking a fresh look at his medications and reviewing his entire medical history. She is making suggestions to try to optimize his medication that will hopefully improve his situation in the coming year.

2. Ms. Lefebvre submitted that the treatment team does not feel that they are at a treatment impasse with Mr. Hamblett. There are opportunities for him to progress and for the Hospital to try new options. Mr. Hamblett has a positive relationship with Dr. Bouskill. There has been no breakdown in that relationship that would require an independent assessment.

3. Finally, Ms. Lefebvre thanked Mr. Hamblett for attending the hearing and commended him for working hard, especially around his sexual acting out.

4. Crown counsel adopted the submissions of the Hospital. Counsel for Mr. Hamblett submitted that Mr. Hamblett had reached a treatment impasse. He noted that this was a concerning case as his client has been in seclusion since 2005. He agreed that external consultations have taken place but that they are from the same doctors and have not assisted Mr. Hamblett.

Findings of the Board:

1. The Board unanimously finds that Mr. Hamblett continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public. In arriving at this determination, the Board considered the position of the parties and accepted the uncontroverted evidence of Dr. Bouskill. The Board also relies on the Hospital Report, which notes the following:

“Mr. Hamblett is a 42-year-old male with diagnoses of severe and persistent mental illness, Schizophrenia, and of substance use disorder (in sustained remission in a controlled environment). His psychotic illness is treatment resistant and he continues to experience severe symptoms despite treatment with medication. An acute psychotic episode precipitated his index offences, which were violent in nature. Since coming under the ORB Mr. Hamblett has engaged in acts of physical violence and sexually inappropriate behaviour against others. He has been in seclusion since the time of his admission to this facility in 2005. “

Mr. Hamblett’s fragile mental state coupled with globally impaired insight increases the likelihood of further episodes of violence in the future. Chronic persecutory delusions, command hallucinations, sexual preoccupation and thought disorder contribute to difficulties in engaging in therapeutic intervention and creates a significant barrier to implementing many risk mitigation strategies. Absent the protections provided for by his current disposition under the ORB, Mr. Hamblett would most certainly stop his medication and his mental state would rapidly deteriorate. In this state he is likely to reoffend in response to severe perceptual disturbances including persecutory delusions and command hallucinations. Violence is likely to occur in the form of physically assaultive behaviour of which a victim could be any person in his proximity. Sexually assaultive behaviour directed towards women is likely to recur in response to heightened sexual preoccupation, poor impulse control and executive dysfunction, as it has in the past.

1. The Board does not find that the Hospital and Mr. Hamblett have reached a treatment impasse. There is a difference between a treatment impasse and a case that is difficult to treat. The recommendations from last year’s external consultation have been tried without much improvement but the Hospital is still looking for different options to manage Mr. Hamblett’s risk. Dr. Bouskill was receptive to suggestions for a MAPS referral as well as pharmacogenetic testing and the Board would encourage this to be completed in the coming year.

2. Therefore, the Board unanimously determines that the necessary and appropriate Disposition required to manage the threat Mr. Hamblett poses to the safety of the public while still meeting their needs, is a continuation of the existing Detention Disposition.

3. In making this Disposition, the Board carefully considered the positions and submissions of the parties and the evidence of Dr. Bouskill 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. Hamblett’s mental condition, their reintegration into society and their other needs.

DATED this 6th day of August 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.

Ms. M. Chamberlain

Legal Member

Office of the Registrar

Ontario Review Board