Court File Information
Court File No.: CR-23-485
Date: 2025-03-07
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Between:
His Majesty the King
Applicant
Counsel: N. Jaswal, for the Crown
- and -
Charles Duku
Respondent
Counsel: G. Butler, for the Respondent
Heard: March 6-7, 2025
Decision on NCR Hearing
Baltman J.
Overview
1In June of 2024 I presided over Mr. Duku’s trial on the charges of arson and mischief (ss. 434 and 430(3), respectively, of the Criminal Code). The central allegation was that Mr. Duku deliberately set fire to furniture in his high-rise apartment. Mr. Duku did not testify at the trial. Based primarily on the largely undisputed evidence of the firefighters and the expert Fire Investigator, I concluded that Mr. Duku intentionally caused the fire, and found him guilty on both counts.
2Immediately after the conviction I learned that the Crown was seeking a verdict of “Not Criminally Responsible” (NCR), pursuant to s. 672.34 of the Code. It emerged that the Crown had always been of the view that Mr. Duku was NCR, and had him assessed on November 29, 2022, at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) by Dr. Candice Kung, a forensic psychiatrist.
[3] In her report of January 17, 2023, Dr. Kung supported a finding of NCR. She concluded that at the time of this offence, Mr. Duku was:
a) exhibiting active symptoms of psychosis; and
b) those symptoms prevented him from appreciating the nature and quality of his actions or knowing that they were wrong.
4Mr. Duku initially opposed an NCR ruling. However, at the conclusion of Dr. Kung’s evidence, and following consultation with his counsel, he advised he was no longer challenging the NCR application. Out of caution, I conducted a modified Plea Comprehension Inquiry, following which I found that Mr. Duku understands the meaning and possible implications of the NCR findings and was consenting to the designation.
5For the reasons below, I find that the evidence warrants a finding of NCR.
Reasons
6Under s. 16(1) of the Code, no person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong.
7In this case, it is undisputed that Mr. Duku was suffering from a mental disorder at the time that he committed the acts in question. The following critical findings of Dr. Kung support her conclusion that at the time of the offence Mr. Duku’s mental disorder prevented him from appreciating the nature and quality of his action or of knowing they were wrong:
- Prior to this offence, Mr. Duku has a longstanding history of schizophrenia, with multiple hospitalizations for psychotic decompensation in the context of medication non-compliance and cannabis use.
- He had previously been subject to three Community Treatment Orders and a long-acting injectable antipsychotic due to his limited insight into mental illness and need for treatment.
- When the police attended his building, they found Mr. Duku outside his apartment, naked, claiming both he and his mother were from Jupiter.
- Mr. Duku identified himself to police as “Abraham Israel”, born in 1753. He believed he had been kidnapped by “silent brothers” who were part of a “Jesus gang” that wanted to harm him.
- When discussing his mental state at the time of this offence, Mr. Duku reported that he had been smoking cannabis “all night”, had not slept for three days prior, had been religiously preoccupied with the Bible and Christian iconography, and had not been taking his antipsychotic medications for months.
- Mr. Duku endorsed religious delusions of being attacked and possessed by spirits, which he believed led him to act in a bizarre manner, such as stripping his clothes.
- Mr. Duku advised that he impulsively decided to burn his curtains because of a stain on the curtain that caused him distress.
- The video surveillance from his building around the time of this incident showed him kneeling down and kissing the ground; entering and exiting the elevator multiple times while naked; urinating on the floor inside the elevator; sitting naked in his pool of urine and then wiping himself with it.
8For those reasons, amongst others, Dr. Kung concluded:
- At the time of the offence Mr. Duku was suffering from active symptoms of psychosis;
- Due to the nature of his symptoms (cognitive disorganization, bizarre behaviour, paranoid and religious delusions, agitation and impulsivity), his ability to appreciate the nature and quality of his actions, or know that they were wrong, was likely compromised.
9Based on Dr. Kung’s evidence, along with the evidence from trial, I am satisfied that it is more likely than not that at the time of this incident Mr. Duku was suffering from a mental disorder that rendered him incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of his action or knowing that they were wrong. In sum, I find the evidence in support of a finding of NCR is very strong.
Conclusion
10At the time of this offence, Mr. Duku was not criminally responsible for his actions.
Baltman
Released: March 7, 2025