Re: Martin Asare-Bediako
ORB File No: 8080
Hearing held on: Monday, December 15, 2025
Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. S. Kert
Members: Dr. T. Verny Dr. G. Nexhipi Hon. C. Nelson Mr. W. Apted
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Martin Asare-Bediako Counsel: Mr. A. Rai
The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. P. Darby
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. S. Cressman
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated March 4, 2026)
Overview
On May 23, 2022, Martin Asare-Bediako was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on charges of indecent acts, assault, and sexual assault. Mr. Asare-Bediako is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board detaining him within the Forensic Service at CAMH, with privileges extending to living in the community in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
On December 15, 2025, this panel of the Review Board convened a hearing at CAMH to review that disposition. Mr. Asare-Bediako was present and accompanied by his lawyer, Mr. Rai.
The issues to be decided at this hearing are whether Mr. Asare-Bediako meets the test of posing a significant threat to the safety of the public and, if so, what is the necessary and appropriate disposition to manage that risk, considering the four factors in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
None of the parties contested a finding of significant threat. The Hospital and the Crown submitted that the current detention disposition remains necessary and appropriate, the only recommended change being the addition of a term permitting Mr. Asare-Bediako to travel to Alberta for up to three weeks with an approved itinerary, indirectly supervised. Mr. Asare-Bediako asked the panel to consider whether his risk to the public can be managed under a conditional discharge, with conditions to include a residence requirement and a treatment condition (on his consent), among others.
After considering the evidence, submissions and relevant caselaw, we find that the test for significant threat continues to be met, and that the necessary and appropriate disposition, which is also the least onerous and least restrictive in the circumstances, is one discharging Mr. Asare-Bediako on conditions, including those set out below at para. 41. These are our reasons.
Background and Index Offences
Mr. Asare-Bediako is 45 years old. His current diagnoses are bipolar disorder unspecified, and cannabis use disorder (moderate). He was born in Ghana, where he graduated from high school and obtained an IT diploma. He worked in IT as an advisor at an airline, and as a receptionist at a hotel in Accra. In 2010, he immigrated to Canada “for a better life.” He had no close family or contacts in Canada at the time.
After arriving in Canada, Mr. Asare-Bediako worked as a general labourer. Once he obtained his forklift license he was primarily employed as a forklift operator at various companies through temp agencies. In 2014, he moved to Alberta temporarily for seasonal work but returned to Toronto when that ended. He continued to be steadily employed until January 2020, when he was let go from his job after he missed work because he was in custody in respect of the index offences.
Mr. Asare-Bediako reported being in two significant prior relationships, which began at around the same time. In early 2014, he began seeing A. They dated until 2019 and lived together for four years. They have two children together, a 10-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter. In late 2014, he also began dating B. They never lived together and had an “on again, off again” relationship. They also have 10-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter together. Mr. Asare-Bediako continues to be in regular contact with B and their children, though they are no longer in a relationship.
According to Mr. Asare-Bediako, he started drinking alcohol at the age of 18. Thereafter, he consumed alcohol occasionally and in moderation. He began smoking cannabis after coming Canada when he was overworked and having trouble sleeping. His use escalated in the fall of 2019, when he smoked cannabis daily due to stress in his intimate relationships.
Prior to the index offences, his only criminal conviction was in November 2014, when he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia in Pembina County, North Dakota. Mr. Asare-Bediako explained that he was returning to Toronto from Alberta and had “a bit of weed on me” when he was arrested.
Mr. Asare-Bediako has no known criminal record in Canada. He does, however, have a history of psychiatric contacts and admissions. In early June 2019, he was brought to the Etobicoke General Hospital by EMS after he drove erratically and was “sideswiping cars.” He endorsed having smoked cannabis throughout the day of the accident, which was more than the amount he normally consumed. He tested positive for barbiturates and cannabinoids, was diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis and was referred for a psychiatric consultation. He left the hospital against medical advice before he was seen by a psychiatrist.
Over the next two weeks, Mr. Asare-Bediako was brought back to the hospital three more times. Each time, he was admitted on a Form 1 under the Mental Health Act (MHA). He exhibited disorganized behaviour, agitation and aggression, and his urine drug screen was positive for cannabinoids. On his last admission in mid-June 2019, he was brought back for aggressive and erratic behaviour in the community and was combative in the ER. His family indicated that he had been acting strange over the past few days. His girlfriend had recently moved out and he was living alone. The assessing psychiatrist noted that Mr. Asare-Bediako had been using cannabis for some time. He appeared back to baseline the next morning and was decertified. He was given a prescription for olanzapine and referred to the outpatient psychiatry clinic for follow-up. There is no indication that he attended for follow-up or was adherent with medication once discharged.
The index offences occurred on January 4, 2020, after Mr. Asare-Bediako entered a bank where he was not a customer and did not know the employees. He called the female tellers “baby” and asked them to smile for him. He also asked to use a washroom and was told to try the library across the road. As security was escorting him toward the door, Mr. Asare-Bediako pulled down his pants (exposing his genitals), entered a private office and began urinating on the carpet in front of a woman who was in that office. After seeing another woman enter a different office, Mr. Asare-Bediako entered the 2nd office, closed the door, put his penis in his hand, and walked towards the woman as he was urinating. When she ran out of the office, he followed and continued urinating. At one point he also used his body to direct one of the women into another office against her will. Once inside, he stated, "Come close to me baby, kiss me” while puckering his lips. He was holding his penis in his hand and reached out to the woman and held her wrist. She screamed “leave me alone” and ran out of the office.
When the police arrived, they found Mr. Asare-Bediako sitting on a filing cabinet, drinking coffee, and talking to Jesus. He continued to call out to the female bank employees, calling them "baby" and asking for a kiss. He was arrested and charged with the index offences. While in custody, he removed all of his clothing and stayed naked.
Mr. Asare-Bediako was released on bail two days later, on January 6, 2020. The mother of two of his children acted as his surety. He initially resided in a shelter for a few months before travelling to Ghana for 6 weeks. After returning from Ghana, he moved into an apartment in Brampton. While in the community, he had psychiatric hospitalizations in August 2020 and October 2021. Those admissions were associated with disorganized, aggressive, impulsive, and bizarre behaviour that was precipitated by his cannabis use and/or treatment non-compliance.
After being found NCR in May 2022, but before his initial ORB hearing in mid-December 2022, Mr. Asare-Bediako was hospitalized twice in October 2022. During both admissions, he was brought in by police due to bizarre behaviour and manic symptoms in the community, and required restraints and medication due to his level of agitation. On the second occasion, he was apprehended allegedly trying to enter a daycare building. On both occasions, cannabis use appeared to precipitate his symptoms, which quickly resolved. He minimized the impact his cannabis use had on his mental status and declined addiction services.
After receiving his initial ORB disposition, Mr. Asare-Bediako was detained at CAMH. His first few months in hospital were problematic. He exhibited psychotic symptoms but refused antipsychotic medications. At times he required locked seclusion due to his sexual preoccupation with female staff and co-patients, yelling at and threatening staff and other dysregulated behaviour. In early March 2023, after showing some insight and improvement in his mental state (despite continuing to refuse antipsychotic or mood stabilizing medications), he was transferred to a general forensic unit. A week later, he evidenced a marked and sudden change in his mental state, including affective lability, intrusive and disinhibited behaviour, hostility, angry yelling, and religious preoccupation. He did not sleep well and was agitated and restless. When told one morning that breakfast was not yet available, he lunged at his nursing staff in a threatening manner. His presentation continued to deteriorate, he required locked seclusion intermittently over a two-week period and he was transferred to a secure unit.
In mid-April 2023, Mr. Asare-Bediako started endorsing some awareness of his recent mental abnormalities and the changes in his behaviour, and he was more agreeable to starting treatment with psychotropic medication. He was initially prescribed paliperidone, which was subsequently changed to aripiprazole due to his concerns around weight gain. With treatment, his mental state stabilized. On the secure unit in the summer and early fall of 2023, he presented as calm, appropriate, and with no affective or psychotic symptoms. His Dynamic Appraisal of Situational Aggression (DASA) scores (which measure for risk of imminent aggression) were consistently zero. He used passes appropriately and there were no AWOL concerns.
Given this progress, in October 2023, Mr. Asare-Bediako was transferred back to a general forensic unit. He attended numerous therapeutic programs, including dialectical behaviour therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy and substance use prevention groups. Starting in November 2023, he engaged in weekly 1:1 counselling focussed primarily on substance use issues and its impact on his mental health. He was also able to use passes appropriately.
Mr. Asare-Bediako was also referred to the Sexual Behaviours Clinic at CAMH for assessment. According to the consultation note of December 11, 2023, he was not identified as suffering from any paraphilic disorder. Rather, it was felt that his sexual behaviours during the index offence were likely related to disinhibition from his bipolar disorder. Mr. Asare-Bediako subsequently agreed to undergo phallometric testing that was completed on January 4, 2024. The results were not indicative of a coercive sexual preference.
At Mr. Asare-Bediako’s last annual Review Board hearing in December 2024, his (then) psychiatrist, Dr. Woodside, reported that overall Mr. Asare-Bediako had a very good year. There were no significant management issues, his urine drug screens were negative (despite significant access to the community) and there were no issues with his use of privileges. During the year he participated in a number of groups and activities both in hospital and in the community, including the George Brown College Culinary skills program. He also started to attend a community church. In anticipation of his discharge to the community, and on the advice of his treatment team, in May 2024, Mr. Asare-Bediako began taking a long-acting injectable formulation of aripiprazole. He tolerated the switch with no increased side effects or loss of efficacy. Dr. Woodside advised that Mr. Asare-Bediako was first on a waitlist for SHIP housing, and it was simply a matter of a bed becoming available there before he could be discharged.
During the 2023-2024 reporting year, Mr. Asare-Bediako was required to attend Family Court hearings to determine child support payments for his two children with his former partner, A. He was eventually ordered to begin making payments of $50/month as of February 2024.
Course Since Last Hearing
At the current hearing we received evidence in the form of an updated hospital report, as well as the oral testimony of Dr. Darby, Mr. Asare-Bediako’s outpatient psychiatrist. That evidence highlighted the following: Mr. Asare-Bediako had another good year. He continued to reside on a general forensic unit until June 16, 2025, when he was discharged to SHIP, a medium support long-term residence in Brampton. In hospital he continued to participate in a number of groups and activities, including Substance Relapse Prevention. He also attended five individual counselling sessions with the Sexual Behaviours Clinic, and his engagement was “consistently positive and cooperative.”
Mr. Asare-Bediako has adjusted well to living in the community. There have been no concerns about his behaviour in his residence or in the community. He interacts well with SHIP staff and other clients, and participates in a few activities organized by the occupational therapist. He has been compliant with his psychotropic medication and with his reporting requirements. During interviews, he is pleasant and polite. All of his UDS results have been negative, and he denies cravings.
Dr. Darby testified that Mr. Asare-Bediako has a good employment history and is very motivated to find work. He was able to obtain a job for some period over the past year, but found it too physically tiring. He continues to look for part-time work (recognizing that part-time employment would be better for him), and the treatment team is supportive of this. The team would also like to see Mr. Asare-Bediako participate in other group programs this year to help him deal with stressors, including potential stressors in a work environment.
Analysis and Conclusions
None of the parties contested a finding of significant threat, and we agree that Mr. Asare-Bediako continues to pose a significant threat to public safety.
As outlined in the hospital report, Mr. Asare-Bediako’s risk is based on his psychotic disorder and his risk of relapse in the context of non-adherence with medication and/or substance use. Currently, the symptoms of his major mental illness (bipolar disorder) are well contained. He is compliant with his prescribed medication, aripiprazole, an injectable medication that he receives on his own consent every 4 weeks, and he has maintained abstinence from substance use, specifically cannabis and alcohol. Dr. Darby’s evidence is that Mr. Asare-Bediako is now at his baseline mental status – he is free of psychotic symptoms, and his mood is good.
All of this is positive. However, Mr. Asare-Bediako has a significant history of substance use and treatment non-adherence leading to problematic and disinhibited behaviour when on his own in the community. Even after he was charged with the index offences and subsequently found NCR, he required multiple admissions to hospital after displaying disorganized and aggressive behaviour in the community, in the context of non-adherence with treatment recommendations (medication, follow-up) and cannabis use. Once admitted to CAMH, Mr. Asare-Bediako continued to exhibit psychotic symptoms and was aggressive while he remained untreated. For several months (until the spring of 2023, when he was found incapable and treatment was initiated under substitute consent), he had no insight, stating that he did not have a mental illness or need any medications.
Based on this history, we agree with the treatment team that in order to sustain the progress that Mr. Asare-Bediako has achieved to date, he continues to require the close monitoring and support provided by the forensic outpatient team pursuant to a Review Board disposition. As set out in the hospital report at p. 29,
If Mr. Asare-Bediako were to re-offend, it would likely be in the context of suboptimal supervision, non-compliance with medication and/or cannabis use which would likely result in a re-emergence of both psychotic and manic symptoms. Mr. Asare-Bediako would become manic, disinhibited, with delusions, hallucinations, and would be at heightened risk of acting out sexually or violently towards others, as was the case during previous psychotic and manic episodes.
As such, we find that the threshold test for significant threat continues to be met.
We also find that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a conditional discharge, with conditions to include those outlined below.
The rationale for this decision is as follows. First, although Mr. Asare-Bediako’s first few months in hospital at CAMH were problematic, since the initiation of treatment with psychotropic medication sometime in late April or early May 2023, he has been on a positive trajectory.
Within months of starting on paliperidone (and shortly after that, aripiprazole), he presented on the unit as calm and appropriate, with no affective or psychotic symptoms. Since then, he has been adherent with treatment and generally cooperative with suggestions from his treatment team, including attending for assessment at the Sexual Behaviours Clinic; a change to the injectable form of his medication to ensure his ongoing compliance in the community; and attending individual and group counselling for substance abuse. There have been no behavioural incidents since March 2023, and once stabilized in hospital, he progressed up the privilege ladder without incident. He has transitioned well to community living and has been adherent with the terms of his disposition. He is motivated to remain well and has indicated a commitment to staying on medication, which he understands is necessary to maintain his current mental state. To ensure his ongoing compliance with medication, he has consented to an order under s. 672.55 of the Criminal Code directing that he take his medication.
Second, Mr. Asare-Bediako obviously has a very significant substance abuse history, and relapse to substance use remains a major risk factor for him. He has reported using cannabis regularly in the past, at times as a means of coping with stressors and insomnia.
Despite this history, and although he has had regular community access, Mr. Asare-Bediako has been adherent to the condition in his disposition mandating abstinence. There has been no evidence of substance use since he came under the jurisdiction of the Review Board in December 2022, and all of his UDS results have been negative. This may be the result of him internalizing some of the risks associated for him with drug use, including an awareness of what he stands to lose if he relapses. It may also be related to the substance prohibition and urine drug screening requirements in his disposition, or the fact that he was under close supervision in hospital and, more recently, frequent monitoring in the community, all of which will continue under the terms of a conditional discharge.
The hospital report indicates that at least part of Mr. Asare-Bediako’s success in remaining abstinent is because his level of activity “has been quite constricted” and “he has not faced significant stressors up until this time.” Stress was a contributing factor to his ongoing use of cannabis and psychotic symptoms at the time of the index offences, and the treatment team is concerned about how he will cope with significant stressors going forward. Particularly if Mr. Asare-Bediako obtains employment, the team’s concern is that rather than using other more pro-social skills he has learned, Mr. Asare-Bediako may cope with the stress of his work by using cannabis, as he did with other stressors in the past. This, in turn, could lead to decompensation in his mental state. While we appreciate this concern, we note that since his admission to CAMH, Mr. Asare-Bediako has dealt with other serious stressors appropriately and without a relapse to substance use, including litigation with his ex-partner over custody and financial support of two of his children, and a civil (and possibly criminal) case involving a motor vehicle accident in 2022.
Third, given Mr. Asare-Bediako’s relatively short time living in the community since discharge (6 months), the supportive environment at SHIP, and the good working relationship between SHIP staff and members of the outpatient team, we agree with the treatment team that Mr. Asare-Bediako will continue to benefit from living at his current housing for the foreseeable future. This can be achieved by the inclusion of a residence condition in his disposition.
Finally, it is not clear to us on the evidence why the provisions of the MHA could not be used to return Mr. Asare-Bediako to CAMH in the event that is necessary in the coming year. Currently, his psychotropic medication is given to him by injection every four weeks and his mental status is stable. He is seen frequently (at least weekly) by treatment team staff who can monitor for changes in his mental status, and this will continue under the proposed reporting condition.
Although it was suggested that Mr. Asare-Bediako can decompensate quickly even when medication adherent, his history does not indicate this. Prior to coming under the jurisdiction of the Board, Mr. Asare-Bediako’s problematic behaviour in the community and admissions to hospital were the result of medication non-adherence and substance use. Although he experienced a precipitous deterioration in his mental state and behaviour in March 2023 (after being in hospital for three months), that occurred at a time when he was on no medication as he had been refusing (and was presumed capable) from the time of his admission. He was found incapable shortly thereafter.
Since then, with consistent compliance with medication, it does not appear that Mr. Asare-Bediako has experienced any significant reemergence of the symptoms of his major mental illness. That is not to say that will not, or cannot, occur in the future, only that with the benefits provided to him by his long-acting injectable medication, decompensation might not occur rapidly, but would be something that the treatment team could pick up on and address with Mr. Asare-Bediako, including through a voluntary admission. Alternatively, given Mr. Asare-Bediako’s pattern in the past of aggressive and sexually inappropriate behaviour when decompensated, in our view Box A criteria (serious harm to others) could likely be used to readmit him. We note that from June 2019 (his first known psychiatric hospitalization) until just before his admission to CAMH in December 2022, all of Mr. Asare-Bediako’s hospital admissions occurred under the MHA.
Accordingly, considering public safety, which is paramount, Mr. Asare-Bediako’s mental condition, his reintegration into society and his other needs, we find that the necessary and appropriate disposition to manage his risk, which is also the least onerous and least restrictive to be imposed in the circumstances, is a conditional discharge with the following conditions, among others. Mr. Asare-Bediako will be required to:
continue to reside at his current SHIP residence in Brampton;
report to the person in charge of CAMH or their designate not less than once per week;
abstain absolutely from the non-medical use of alcohol or drugs or any other
intoxicant;
upon request, submit samples of his urine and/or breath to the person in charge of CAMH or their designate for the purpose of analyzing whether he has ingested alcohol, drugs or any other intoxicant;
refrain from contact or communication with Antepreet Jhatta and Erika Undegar;
on his consent, take such treatment and/or medication as prescribed by the person in charge of CAMH or their designate;
upon request of the person in charge of CAMH or their designate, attend at CAMH for psychiatric assessment; and
remain in the Province of Ontario except for travel to Ghana or to Alberta for up to three weeks, upon first obtaining approval of his itinerary by the person in charge of CAMH or their designate.
We have included the condition allowing for the possibility of travel because: i) Mr. Asare-Bediako already has a term allowing for indirectly supervised travel to Ghana (where he still has family) with an approved itinerary; and ii) the treatment team is supportive of a clause allowing Mr. Asare-Bediako to travel to Alberta. He has friends there with whom he remains in contact, and he has indicated some thoughts of eventually moving there.
There are two other issues we wish to briefly address. The hospital report indicates that Mr. Asare-Bediako previously told his in-patient treatment team that not only was he facing a civil lawsuit arising from a motor vehicle accident that occurred in approximately September 2022, but also that he had been charged criminally with “hit and run” related to the accident. Over the most recent clinical year, he advised the team that those charges had been resolved. Going forward, it would be helpful if the Crown could provide some further information about those charges and the resolution.
Additionally, while much of the discussion at this hearing revolved around the impact/effect of the very recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Ramos, 2025 ONCA 820 in the context of a conditional discharge, given the reasons for our decision we do not feel it is necessary to address those issues here, and we leave those questions for another day.
DATED this 4th day of March, 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.
Ms. S. Kert
Alternate Chairperson
__________________
Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board