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“Something like this should never happen in this country,” Good said in court on Monday, describing what occurred at the Maplehurst Correctional Complex in December 2023 as a “disgusting and gross display of power.”

It was at least the second time in the last two months the Crown admitted that an inmate’s Charter rights were violated in the incident and that they were deserving of a reduced sentence as a result.

As previously reported by the Star, the incident began with the assault of a guard by an inmate on Dec. 20, 2023.

After the assault, all 192 other inmates on the unit were subsequently locked in their cells. Two days later, correctional officers clad in full riot gear rushed onto the unit, setting off flash grenades as part of a co-ordinated operation.

Guards contorted inmates’ limbs, judge said

Moving cell-by-cell, they strip-searched each inmate, zip-tying their hands and removing them from their cells, which were subsequently “tossed” — all items removed and the cell left in disarray — by other correctional officers.

Guards contorted inmates’ arms and hands into painful positions as they led them out of their cells — “using their thumbs as joysticks,” Good said — before the inmates were made to sit cross-legged with their heads bowed, facing the wall. Some inmates have also alleged to the Star that they were pepper-sprayed without warning.

“This appeared to the court to be an institutional response that punished multiple prisoners who were not involved and had nothing to do with the assault,” Good said.

The incident has affected dozens of criminal cases across the province, as inmates seek to have their charges stayed or sentences reduced on the grounds that their Charter rights were violated.

The man who pleaded guilty in Brantford on Monday, Claude Simon, alleged he suffered multiple Charter violations, including the right not to be subject to cruel and unusual punishment.

The Crown, however, only conceded that jail officials violated his right to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure, admitting that the actions taken by the jail’s Institutional Crisis Intervention Team — a kind of SWAT team for the jail — were unreasonable, disproportionate and contrary to ministry policy.

Jail staffer testifies about sudden drop in temperature

Video of the incidents were played as part of Simon’s pretrial motion, and Good said the court saw “criminal acts occur towards prisoners,” including one instance when an inmate appeared to be shot in the back with a pepperball gun.

Good noted how the video showed jail officials “fist-bumping in what appeared to be a congratulatory fashion” during the operation, and also that one guard “appeared to be doing mini goose steps” in an apparent effort to intimidate the prisoners.

When inmates were returned to their cells, which were emptied of everything except a mattress, they were left in their underwear for the remainder of the day while cold air was allegedly blown into the unit. Simon was left in his underwear for 24 hours, the court heard.

An HVAC manager at the jail testified that there was a sudden and unexplained drop in temperature at the same time as the incident. “The court finds that highly suspicious,” Good said.

Good also criticized jail officials who testified on behalf of the Crown, saying the vast majority of them seemed to have “suffered amnesia” about the incident.

Guards’ conduct significantly reduces inmate’s sentence��

Simon was released from court on Monday after spending 18 months in jail. Officially, his sentence was 27 months, after he was given the usual 1.5 credit for each day spent in pretrial custody. If not for his treatment by the jail, Good said, he would have likely been sentenced to at least an additional two years.

While the sentence the court approved was “well below” the normal range, Good said she hoped that “any reasonable and well informed member of the public” would understand why it was justified.

“(Simon) was abused by this institution and the so-called professionals that were in charge of making sure his time at Maplehurst was safe.”

Good pointed out that the majority of inmates at Maplehurst are awaiting trial and have not been convicted or sentenced. They are presumed innocent, she said, and some people in jail are “legitimately innocent” of their charges.

“The thought that an innocent person, while waiting to have their case heard on its merits and have a trial, would be subject to this type of treatment, I think, would shock the conscience of the public.”

Jail officials said the operation was a high-level search for weapons, but the court heard no evidence of any weapons being found, Good said.

Simon’s lawyer, Jesse Dostal, told the court that while Simon accepted the Crown’s offer, he maintained that his other Charter rights were also violated. He wasn’t, however, willing to sit in jail while those arguments were litigated.

Outside court, Dostal told the Star that although Simon’s case concluded before all the evidence about what happened at Maplehurst could be heard, he is “optimistic that the truth is going to come out and that the public will see what went on here.”

Video of the incident has been disclosed to defence lawyers, who have been required to sign undertakings forbidding them from sharing it outside of court. The Star requested a copy of the video last year in a freedom-of-information request that was denied by the Ministry of the Solicitor General, which is responsible for correctional facilities in the province.

Neither the Ministry of the Attorney General, nor the Ministry of the Solicitor General responded to questions before publication.