High-risk offender remains behind bars following brief court appearance

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Medhani Yohans appears in court after rearrest

Released and rearrested

A man deemed a high-risk offender remains behind bars, awaiting a bail hearing, after he was arrested for breaching the conditions of his release less than two hours after he walked out of a court in Guelph, Ont.

Medhani Yohans made a brief appearance in bail court Tuesday morning. He was remanded into custody and scheduled to return on Wednesday.

Yohans had been released early Monday afternoon after pleading guilty to breaching the conditions of a previous probation order.

He had been in custody since his arrest in July and was sentenced to time served.

But within two hours of his release on Monday, the Guelph Police Service arrested Yohans again, after they say officers saw him going to an address he had been told to stay away from.

Speaking with CTV News on Tuesday, Guelph Police Service Chief Gord Cobey said he wants the community to know their safety is top of mind.

It’s one of the reasons police have put out alerts with photos, warning that Yohans was being released into Guelph, multiple times over the last year and a half.

“Our community needs to know we are mindful of these situations. We are doing everything we can to make sure they are updated, they have the information they need, and we will also take the action that we deem appropriate to support them and secure their safety,” Cobey said.

Police said Yohans is considered a high-risk offender and is a particular danger to women.

In August 2024, he was released after serving a sentence related to two sexual assaults involving strangers in Guelph.

When he failed to check in with Guelph Police within seven days, a condition of his release, he was arrested.

Since then, Yohans has been in and out of custody for breaching court orders related to the conditions of his release.

Cobey said police are one part of the justice system and can only do their role. Ultimately decisions on sentences and releases are made by the courts.

“I think the best option we have is always making sure our courts have the information they require in a timely way to make sure they can make the decisions within the confines of the laws that exists that the courts are working with,” Cobey said.

“And we work very, very carefully to make sure they have that information. But at the end of the day, we rely on them to make the decisions they believe appropriate.”

Criminal Defence Lawyer Kim Schofield, who is not involved in the case, said while cases like Yohans’ may seem like a waste of judicial resources, it is a tough reality in certain situations.

“Managing people is not the most efficient process. So I think it’s inevitable in some circumstances,” Schofield told CTV News.

Schofield said in complex cases such as this one, courts may need to look at options like requiring electronic monitoring as a requirement for future releases.

She said there may also be a place for other types of orders.

“Someone has to say, ‘We need to pay a little more attention,’ not just in a punitive catch and release, catch and release.”

Schofield cited examples including counselling orders or having a probation officer attend court to help come up with a plan that is judicially authorized.

She said courts also need to consider other factors such as mental health concerns, housing situations and addictions that may also be playing a role in the repeated breaches of court orders.

Schofield added that in some cases, Crown lawyers can make an application to designate someone as a long-term offender or dangerous offender, though certain criteria must be met.

“If he is a nuisance, we have to live with nuisance. We have to manage them as best as possible,” Schofield explained.

“But if truly a danger to the public, then there are options open that have a lot of teeth.”