Re: Ramtin Dehghan-Shoar, 2026 CanLII 15104

Ontario Review Board

Re: Ramtin Dehghan-Shoar

ORB File No: 8928

Hearing held on: Thursday, February 12, 2026

Place of hearing: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences 700 Gordon Street, Whitby

Pursuant to: Section 672.47(1) of the Criminal Code

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Mr. J. Weinstein Members: Dr. P.L. Darby Dr. L.O. Lightfoot Ms. C. Murray Mr. A. Mete

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Ramtin Dehghan-Shoar Counsel: Mr. D.N. Hotz

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

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. N. MacDonald

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated February 27, 2026)

Introduction:

1. On December 18, 2025, Mr. Ramtin Dehghan-Shoar was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder, on charges of aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm, both contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada. That finding was based on an assessment, and related report, by Dr. Paul Benassi, dated October 23, 2025.

2. The Court did not make a Disposition and ordered, pursuant to s. 672.71 of the Criminal Code, that Mr. Dehghan-Shoar appear before the Ontario Review Board ("the Board") for an initial Disposition. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar is subject to a Warrant of Committal, dated December 18, 2025, which ordered that he be detained at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences ("Ontario Shores") once a bed becomes available.

3. On February 12, 2026, the Board convened a hearing at Ontario Shores to make an initial Disposition.

4. A Hospital Report, dated January 21, 2026, (the "Hospital Report"), was entered as Exhibit 1.

5. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar was present at the hearing and was represented by his counsel, Mr. Darrel Hotz.

6. The issues at this hearing were whether Mr. Dehghan-Shoar is a significant threat to public safety, as defined in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code, and, if so, what is the necessary and appropriate Disposition in the circumstances, bearing in mind the factors enunciated in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.

7. For the reasons set out below and based on the expert evidence and opinions before us, the Board concluded that Mr. Dehghan-Shoar represents a significant threat to the safety of the public. The Board found that the necessary and appropriate Disposition in the circumstances is a Detention Order at Ontario Shores. The highest level of privileges are passes, for up to 12 hours, to enter the community within a 150-kilometre radius of Ontario Shores, indirectly supervised.

Current Psychiatric Diagnosis:

8. Schizophrenia

Position of the Parties:

9. Counsel for the hospital, the Attorney General and Mr. Dehghan-Shoar advised that this was a joint submission: all were adopting the hospital’s recommendation of a Detention Order, upon the terms set out on pages 16 and 17 of the Hospital Report.

10. For the purposes of this hearing, counsel for Mr. Dehghan-Shoar advised that significant threat was not in dispute.

Index Offences:

11. The circumstances giving rise to the Index Offences are extracted from pages 2 and 3 of the Hospital Report with deletions with respect to identifying information:

"The accused resides with his mother and father (victim 2). The accused’s grandmother (victim 1) is currently visiting the family from Iran and has been in Canada for approximately a month. The accused’s parents have seen a decline in his mental health since the COVID pandemic. He does not have any formal diagnosis.

On Sunday August 04th, 2024 the accused was at home, with his family that consisted of his mother, father (victim 2) and his grandmother (victim 1). The accused had been paranoid, hearing voices throughout the day, according to his mother.

Sometime around 6:00pm the accused began to argue with victim 1 in the dining room. The argument escalated and the accused went into the kitchen and armed himself with a kitchen knife. The accused returned to the dining room and began attacking victim 1 with the knife. The accused stabbed her multiple times in the torso, slashing her across the face and stabbing her on the right forearm.

Victim 2 rushed into the dining room when he heard the commotion and in an attempt to stop the attack, was stabbed in the abdomen. The accused’s mother contacted a family friend due to her language skills and it was the family friend who called 911 for assistance. The accused fled the house and he too called 911."

Mr. Dehghan-Shoar's Self Report

12. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar's self report was gathered through two in-person interviews, in June and July 2025. They can be summarized as follows:

a) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar consistently described a strong belief that his family was involved with what he called the “Iranian Regime,” which he associated with the Iranian Government or National Guard.

b) He framed his actions in the context of the broader geopolitical situation in Iran, expressing fears that those in power were engaged in assassination plots against the public.

c) He believed his family was entangled in these activities and that uncovering this truth put him in danger. He thought his family wanted to kill him, or to have him killed, and these beliefs peaked on the day of the offence. He was clear that these beliefs drove his behavior, not other motives like financial gain.

d) In the period leading up to the offence, he described increasing paranoia, triggered mainly by perceived changes in his father's financial transactions supporting the family in Canada. While the payments themselves were not suspicious, certain aspects of their recent timing or procedure convinced him of a nefarious connection to the Iranian regime.

e) He struggled to articulate the specifics of these suspicions but remained convinced that something had changed in the months before the offence.

Background:

13. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar's background is set out in detail in the Hospital Report, and can be summarized as follows:

a) He was born on November 28, 2000, in Tehran, Iran, as the only child of his biological parents. He spent much of his childhood with his maternal grandparents in Karaj, Iran, and described his upbringing as normal, in an affluent family free from conflict or discord. He met developmental milestones at appropriate intervals and did not experience significant childhood illnesses, trauma, or neglect. However, he witnessed marital discord and violence between his parents when he was 7–8 years old, and his mother reportedly experienced depression and difficulty managing anger.

b) He moved to Canada in 2017, living in Manitoba for 11 months before relocating to Toronto, Ontario. He attended private schools in Iran until Grade 10 and completed high school in Canada, where he faced challenges adjusting to the education system and the immigration process. Despite these challenges, he consistently achieved good grades and was described as responsible, moral, and ambitious in his pursuits.

c) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has no history of conduct-disordered behavior during his youth, such as physical aggression, theft, or cruelty. He reported having strong relationships with friends and family during his early years, but his social interactions diminished over time, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. He switched his academic focus from business to classical music, which perplexed his family. He has no significant employment history, though he applied for service industry jobs without success. He has a history of credit card debt, which was paid off by his family.

Criminal History:

14. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar had no criminal history prior to the commission of the Index Offences.

Substance Abuse History:

15. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has no history of substance abuse.

Psychiatric History:

16. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar's psychiatric history is outlined in detail in the Hospital Report, and it can be summarized as follows:

a) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has a psychiatric history characterized by symptoms consistent with schizophrenia, including both negative and positive symptoms. His mental health decline began during the COVID-19 pandemic, with increased isolation, binge eating, neglect of hygiene, impulsive spending, sleep disturbances, and verbal aggression. His condition briefly improved after lockdowns lifted but worsened again following personal stressors, including his grandfather's death and physical injuries.

Course Subsequent to Index Offences:

17. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar's course subsequent to the Index Offences are set out in detail in the Hospital Report. The following extracted paragraphs are relevant to this hearing:

"According to the Court Report authored by Dr. Paul Benassi, dated October 23, 2025, Mr. Dehghan-Shoar was assessed in the CAMH emergency department after banging his head against a glass window at the jail. He was cleared from a head injury standpoint and admitted to the psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) in the context of his aggression. He required both mechanical and chemical restraint due to escalating behaviours in the emergency department. He was not cooperative with assessment and engaged in head-banging behaviours in hospital. He was noted to be a threat to others and was unable to care adequately for himself. Mention was made of the diagnoses of other specified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder in his chart.

File information from the jail records indicated that Mr. Dehghan-Shoar disclosed the belief that he was a movie actor and a mathematician who has been busy solving problem while incarcerated. He was characterized as tangential and irritable on assessment, raising his voice and making demands of staff. He had been inappropriately laughing to himself according to jail staff.

On reassessment, further collateral information from the jail indicated that Mr. Dehghan-Shoar was refusing medications and was acting in bizarre and disorganized manner, including kissing pictures on the wall, making racially charged and inappropriate statements, watching others use the washroom, and masturbating at his cell door."

Course Subsequent to NCR Finding:

18. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar's course subsequent to his NCR finding is set out in detail in the Hospital Report. The following extracted paragraphs are relevant to this hearing:

"He often presented as slightly malodorous and disheveled. He could appear to be distracted and disorganized, especially during mealtimes, where he was observed impulsively taking food from the trays of other patients, or abruptly abandoning his meal tray. He also used the shower for long periods of time, up to two hours on some occasions. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar predominantly presented as calm and cooperative, though he could become more abrupt when making demands of nursing staff. He often engaged in sexually disinhibited behaviour and was observed masturbating in common areas of the unit on a number of different occasions. He was generally easy to re-direct to his bedroom when this occurred. At times he was found to be staring inappropriately at female nursing staff. He slept very poorly at night, if at all, and was often observed to be pacing in the bedroom corridors for much of the night. His impulsive and intrusive behaviours have caused some tension amongst other patients on the unit, resulting in the confinement of Mr. Dehghan-Shoar to the Step Down Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) area within the general unit."

Notable Incidents and Presentation:

19. Page 14 of the Hospital Report sets out in detail four notable incidents involving Mr. Dehghan-Shoar. Some of these incidents involved inappropriate sexual behaviour, such as masturbation, sexual disinhibition and intrusive behaviours.

Evidence at the Hearing:

20. The Board had available to it the evidence and documents forming the record, the exhibits, and oral evidence from Dr. Harrigan. Dr. Harrigan co-authored the Hospital Report and testified as follows:

a) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s antipsychotic medication, risperidone, has been titrated up to a dose of 5 mg. This new dose has been effective in decreasing the frequency of his sexually disinhibited behaviour.

b) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar is currently on an oral form of risperidone, and she hopes to move him to an injectable form in the future, if he is willing.

c) The treatment team has not observed Mr. Dehghan experiencing fixed delusions, responding to internal stimuli, or undergoing disorganization of thought, since he began taking risperidone.

d) The treatment team feels that the diagnosis of schizophrenia is the appropriate diagnosis.

e) These are still early days, and the treatment team is continuing to optimize Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s treatment, both pharmacology and with psychotherapy. It is quite possible that they will be able to transfer him to a General Forensic Unit in the coming reporting year.

f) She would like Mr. Dehghan-Shoar to partake in cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis, as well as family intervention therapy. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has a very supportive family, some of whom are present today at the hearing (his parents and grandmother).

21. In response to questions from counsel for the Attorney General, Dr. Harrigan testified:

a) It is very premature to include community living in the upcoming reporting year. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar still needs to make a gradual transition through the privilege ladder; it is unlikely that he would be in a position to exercise even indirectly supervised passes into the community until the latter part of the reporting period.

22. In response to questions from counsel for Mr. Dehghan-Shoar, Dr. Harrigan testified:

a) Since the titration of his antipsychotic medication, Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has not expressed any delusions similar to those he experienced at the time of the Index Offences.

b) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar came to Ontario Shores in late December. At that time, he was more disorganized, more impulsive, and more intrusive with other patients. He also exhibited more sexually disinhibited behaviour; as set out in the Hospital Report, he made some female staff and patients feel uncomfortable, to the point that he had to be placed in a more suitable area of the Secure Forensic Unit. This alternative placement is no longer necessary.

c) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar is pleasant, polite and calm while on the unit, and he follows unit rules. He has also been socially appropriate in the day area. He appears to be organized behaviourally, and he has made significant progress in a short period of time.

d) In addition to his antipsychotic medication, Mr. Dehghan-Shoar is being treated with is trazodone at 25 mg, to aid with sleep.

e) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s father and grandmother have given the hospital documents that give their consent for him to have contact with them.

23. In response to questions from the panel, Dr. Harrigan testified:

a) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar is quite fluent and does not need a translator to engage in appropriate programming. She has not had any difficulty communicating with him, even during nuanced conversations.

b) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s family will need translators to benefit from any therapeutic programming or to understand the forensic system.

c) Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s thinking is sufficiently organized for him to engage in group programming; he does not require individual therapy.

d) He is still in the Step-Down Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (“PICU”), but only because of a lack of beds on the Secure Forensic Unit. He does not need to be in a locked room.

e) The treatment team is not relying on Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s self-report with respect to his use of alcohol, which is why they are requesting an abstention clause in his current Disposition.

24. No other evidence was called.

Analysis and Conclusions:

25. Having heard and considered the entirety of the evidence as well as the submissions from the parties, the Board finds that Mr. Dehghan-Shoar is a significant threat to public safety. The appropriate and necessary Disposition is a Detention Order.

26. In Winko, the Supreme Court outlined that, in coming to a conclusion on the issue of significant risk, a Review Board should closely examine a range of evidence, including: the circumstances of the original offence; the past and expected course of the accused’s treatment; the present state of the NCR accused’s medical condition; the NCR accused’s own plans for the future; the support existing for the NCR accused in the community; and most importantly, the recommendations provided by experts who examined the NCR accused. In coming to our conclusion in this matter, the Board relies on the uncontroverted expert evidence of Dr. Harrigan, in addition to the documentary evidence before us.

27. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has demonstrated concerning sexually inappropriate and disinhibited behaviours while at Ontario Shores. His insight into how his behaviours negatively affect those around him remains limited.

28. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has a history of impulsive violence, directed at himself and others. The treatment team is still trying to optimize his psychotropic medication regimen, and he may require a trials of various psychiatric medications for him to achieve clinical and behavioural stability. In the interim, it is the hospital's opinion that he needs to be detained on a Secure Forensic Unit for the immediate future.

29. The Index Offences involved serious acts of violence, including stabbing two family members, which resulted in significant physical injuries. Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. While this diagnosis is supported by collateral information, his clinical presentation since admission has been less clear, requiring further longitudinal observation and investigation. The treatment team needs to confirm his diagnosis for them to help him achieve clinical stability. His impulsive, intrusive behaviours have caused tension among other patients, and at times required him to be confined to the PICU for increased monitoring.

30. In particular, the Board relies on the Hospital Report’s Clinical Assessment of Risk, which states:

"The following remain areas of clinical concern:

• Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s Index Offences were serious and involved his stabbing two family members.

• According to Dr. Benassi’s assessment of criminal responsibility, Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. According to Dr. Benassi, he initially began exhibiting negative symptoms of his illness, which then developed into positive symptoms such as disorganized thought processes and behaviours, as well as persecutory delusions, and an overall decline in functioning.

• According to Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s self-report related to the Index Offences, he endorsed persecutory themes related to various family members.

• However, Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has not displayed any frank persecutory or grandiose delusional beliefs since being admitted to the FAU, and reports of his attending to internal stimuli are inconsistent. He also does not appear to be grossly disorganized in terms of his thinking or his behaviour. It may require more time, and clinical observation, to confirm his psychiatric diagnosis/diagnoses.

• Mr. Dehghan-Shoar does exhibit traits of impulsivity, and behavioural and sexual disinhibition.

• He also has a history of significant self-harm behaviours which have required the use of chemical and physical restraints in order to manage his risk of harm to himself.

In Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s favour:

• Mr. Dehghan-Shoar does not have a significant history of substance use.

• He did not exhibit conduct disordered behaviour during his youth.

• Prior to his arrest for the Index Offences, he did not have a documented psychiatric history.

• Other than the Index Offences, Mr. Dehghan-Shoar does not appear to have any prior criminal convictions.

• Mr. Dehghan-Shoar has remained compliant with antipsychotic medication whilst admitted to the FAU.

• He has been able to follow direction and has had some successful trials out of the step-down area on the FAU.

• Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s mother remains supportive of him, and she has visited him on the FAU without issue."

31. In light of the Board's finding of significant threat, it is charged with shaping a Disposition for the coming year. We note that the hospital is not recommending including the privilege of living in any type of approved accommodation in the community.

32. The Hospital Report asserts that a provision for community living would be premature at this juncture, even though it is possible that Mr. Dehghan-Shoar could be transferred to a General Forensic Unit over the coming reporting year. The Board agrees with the hospital's opinion. It is also clear from the doctor's evidence and the Hospital Report that these are early days. The hospital still needs to optimize Mr. Dehghan-Shoar’s medication regimen. Accordingly, it is quite apparent that the hospital does need to retain the authority to approve of Mr. Dehghan-Shoar's accommodation; therefore, a Conditional Discharge would not be appropriate.

33. In consideration of all the evidence, submissions of the parties and the criteria set forth in s. 672.54, the paramount consideration being the safety of the public, in addition to the mental condition of Mr. Dehghan-Shoar, his reintegration into society and his other needs, the necessary and appropriate Disposition is a Detention Order, upon the terms as set out in our formal Disposition.

DATED this 27th day of February 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.

Mr. J. Weinstein Alternate Chairperson Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board