'Shocking' strip-search by Ont. jail guards in riot gear lands offender 'lenient' sentence

An Ontario man with a lengthy criminal record, who pleaded guilty to harassment and firearm charges in a case of intimate partner violence has been handed a "lenient" sentence a year after he was caught up in a "shocking" and aggressive strip search by jail guards in riot gear.

Bryan Adams, 40, walked free late Friday afternoon after a hearing at a Milton, Ont., court where Crown prosecutors revealed an internal investigation found the search at the nearby Maplehurst Correctional Complex was both "unnecessary" and "disproportionate."

Superior Court Justice Clayton Conlan called the Maplehurst incident, which began on Dec. 22, 2023 — involving specially trained officers, known as an Institutional Crisis Intervention Team (ICIT) — a "rather shocking situation."

The findings could yet impact several other criminal cases before the courts. Across Ontario, lawyers representing some of the inmates targeted in the ICIT operation have been seeking to have their clients' sentences reduced or the charges stayed.

Crown prosecutor Ryan Morrow said Adams "was left in his boxer shorts for 19 hours after the ICIT activation." The Crown recommended Adams be sentenced to time served after acknowledging jail staff had breached his Charter right "to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure."

CBC News reported on other elements of the ICIT operation earlier this year: 

• A judge previously said multiple inmates were "herded" with their hands zip-tied.

• Adams's lawyer alleged cold air was pumped into the jail's common area.

• The incident was captured on internal security cameras, but the videos have not been shown in public. 

• The Toronto Star, which first reported the incident, cited other prisoners as saying they had been beaten and pepper-sprayed.

Morrow said an investigation by the Ministry of the Solicitor General's Correctional Services Oversight and Investigations Branch found the Maplehurst incident was "contrary to policy."

The incident followed an alleged attack on a correctional officer by an inmate two days prior. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO), which represents correctional workers at the jail, said in a statement in August that the assault on staff was "unprovoked" and "severe."

The union said Friday it had not yet received a copy of the investigation's findings. A spokesperson for the provincial Ministry of the Solicitor General declined to comment.

In a statement Tuesday, the director of Public Prosecution Service of Canada said it "took proactive steps" to obtain records from the Ministry of the Solicitor General after learning of the incident. Correctional Services Oversight and Investigations then investigated and found Charter rights of inmates in Units 8 A to F "may have been violated."

"The appropriate remedy for any Charter violation will be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the facts and circumstances specific to each inmate," the statement from George Dolhai said.

According to the Crown, the ministry's investigation found staff failed to do a proper risk assessment for the presence of weapons before the ICIT operation. He said Adams and others were left "unclothed" for an "unreasonable amount of time."

'Lenient' sentence and 'disgraceful' conditions

Describing the sentence as "undoubtedly … lenient," the judge handed Adams just over four years behind bars — which amounts to time served — and two years probation.

Adams had already pleaded guilty to a list of charges, including criminal harassment, dangerous driving, pointing a firearm and possession of cocaine and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking.

"But for the rather disgraceful conditions at the correctional facility — and but for the ICIT deployment in particular at Maplehurst — Mr. Adams would have received a much lengthier sentence," Conlan said. 

Provincial data showed Maplehurst was the most overcrowded Ontario jail last year, with an average inmate population of 1,188 but official capacity for 887 — meaning it was operating at 134 per cent capacity in 2023.

The judge underlined that the Crown was acknowledging a provincial institution had breached an inmate's Charter rights. "That is quite something," Conlan said.

"A reasonable member of the public ought to be shocked to hear that Mr. Adams was strip-searched and left in nothing but his underwear for close to an entire day," the judge added.

The Crown said in court a more detailed report into the investigation is expected to be released in April.