An Ontario man with a long criminal record, who pleaded guilty to harassment and gun charges in an intimate partner violence case, has been given a “lenient” sentence a year after he was caught in a “shocking” and aggressive strip search by jail. Guards in riot gear.
Brian Adams, 40, of Milton, Ont., was released Friday afternoon after a court hearing where Crown prosecutors said an internal investigation found the search at the nearby Maplehurst Correctional Complex was both “unnecessary” and “disproportionate.”
Superior Court Judge Clayton Conlan called the Maplehurst incident, which began on Dec. 22, 2023 — involving specially trained officers known as the Institutional Crisis Intervention Team (ICIT) — an “extremely shocking situation.”
The outcome could have implications for many other criminal cases before the court. Across Ontario, lawyers representing some of the inmates targeted in ICIT operations are seeking to have their clients' sentences reduced or charges withheld.
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 after admitting prison staff violated his Charter rights “to be protected from unnecessary search or seizure.”
CBC News Reported Other elements of ICIT operations earlier this year include:
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A judge previously said many inmates had their hands “herded” in zip-ties.
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Adams' attorney alleged that cold air was pumped into the jail's common areas.
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The incident was captured on an internal security camera, but the video has not been shown publicly.
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The Toronto StarFor those who first reported the incident, other inmates cited that they were beaten and pepper sprayed.
Morrow said an investigation by the solicitor general's Department of Correctional Services Oversight and Investigations Branch found the Maplehurst incident was “contrary to policy.”
The incident follows an alleged assault on a correctional officer by an inmate two days earlier. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO), which represents correctional workers at the prison, said in a statement in August that the attack on staff was “unprovoked” and “serious.”
The union said Friday it had not received a copy of the investigation's findings. A spokesman for the provincial ministry of the solicitor general declined to comment.
In a statement Tuesday, the director of Canada's Public Prosecution Service 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 that the Charter rights of inmates in Units 8 A through F “may have been violated.”
“The appropriate remedy for any Charter violation will be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific facts and circumstances of each prisoner,” George Dolhay said in a statement.
According to the Crown, the ministry's investigation found that staff failed to conduct a proper risk assessment for the presence of weapons prior to ICIT operations. He said Adams and others were left “in limbo” for an “unreal time”.
'Generous' sentences and 'derogatory' terms
Describing the sentence as “undoubtedly … lenient,” the judge handed Adams more than four years in prison — the equivalent of time served — and two years of probation.
Adams pleaded guilty to a list of charges including criminal harassment, dangerous driving, pointing a firearm and possessing cocaine and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking.
“But for the deplorable conditions at the correctional facility — and especially for the deployment of ICIT at Maplehurst — Mr. Adams would have received a much longer sentence,” Conlan said.
Provincial data showed Maplehurst was the most overcrowded Ontario prison last year, with an average inmate population of 1,188 but an official capacity of 887 — meaning it was operating at 134 per cent capacity in 2023.
The judge emphasized that the Crown had accepted that the provincial institution had violated the prisoner's Charter rights. “It's quite something,” Conlan said.
“A reasonable member of the public should be shocked to hear that Mr Adams was strip-searched and left in nothing but his underwear for days on end,” the judge added.
The Crown told the court a more detailed report of the investigation is expected to be released in April.
