The man who violently beat a 10-year-old girl in Pointe-aux-Trembles last March could receive the extremely rare label of “high-risk defendant”. At least that’s what the prosecution intends to claim when Tanvir Singh is found not criminally responsible (NCR) due to his mental disorder next month.
Posted at 2:00 p.m.
“The Crown wants to file a motion to declare him a high risk accused. Given the disturbing and serious circumstances of the case, we want him to be assessed in this sense, ”announced to the court the Crown prosecutor Ms.e Annabelle Sheppard Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse.
Introduced in 2014 in the wake of the Turcotte case, the designation of “high-risk accused” is reserved for offenders declared NCR at high risk of violent recidivism. It makes it possible to considerably restrict their outings outside the psychiatric hospital.
But before submitting the prosecution’s motion on this subject, the 21-year-old man must first be declared NCR by a judge. However, for a second day in a row, a judge refused to hear the joint suggestion of the lawyers. On Wednesday, Judge Christian M. Tremblay suddenly withdrew from the case in the face of the defense’s stubborn refusal to present the facts of the case.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Me Annabelle Sheppard at the Montreal courthouse last March
Thursday morning, Judge Alexandre Dalmau quickly announced his colors to the lawyers. “You have not come across the right judge. I’m not doing a trial in this room. We have 50 individuals on the role, ”he said.
The judge was also very clear in terms of judicial transparency: a summary of the facts must be presented and the psychiatric report will be filed. In this report, the psychiatrists conclude that Tanvir Singh is not criminally responsible.
To allow the report to be translated, the case has been adjourned to July 19. The parties will then have a third opportunity to present their joint suggestion. It is only when the judge declares Tanvir Singh NCR that the Crown will present its motion to have the offender assessed as a “high risk accused”.
Tanvir Singh, 21, is accused of beating a 10-year-old girl in broad daylight on the sidewalk of Tricentenaire Boulevard in eastern Montreal. On Wednesday, prosecutor Me Sheppard mentioned that the defendant was holding a “cutter” in his hands before being interrupted by defense attorney Ms.e Mileva Camire. Rescued by passers-by, the girl was seriously injured.