Inquest tracks last day of accused serial rapist who hanged himself in jail
An inquest into the suicide death of an accused serial rapist at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre heard testimony from corrections officers on Wednesday about Yousef Hussein’s last day.
Hussein, 27, wasn’t considered at risk of harming himself when he entered the jail in May 2014 after his arrest on charges of choking and sexually assaulting five women and attempting to attack a sixth woman.
Almost two years later, still awaiting trial, he was found hanging from the railing of the top bunk in a segregation cell on April 12, 2016.
Inmates facing charges of sexual assault are often the targets of other inmates and are housed in protective custody, although they might share a cell with others facing similar charges, the inquest heard. However, Hussein had spent a 45-day period in segregation starting Feb. 12, 2016, on a serious misconduct charge.
He returned to the “dorms” before being returned to segregation on April 8, when he was placed on suicide watch after he refused to be transferred to another jail in Lindsay. Hussein told a psychologist he was distraught because he wouldn’t be close to his wife and other family members.
Hussein spent the weekend on suicide watch before he was cleared at about 3 p.m. on April 11 by psychologist Alyna Reesor, who assessed him for suicide risk and gave him a score of zero out of 10.
Reesor had recommended Hussein be “housed for support” — that is, placed in a cell with another inmate. She told the inquest on Tuesday she didn’t learn that he was placed back in segregation until the following morning, when she learned of his death.
Peter Plouffe, who is now a security manager at the jail, was the admitting-discharge manager on the day Hussein was to be transferred. Hussein was one of about 70 inmates scheduled to be moved but insisted he didn’t want to be transferred, said Plouffe, who gave him a direct order. Refusal could lead to a misconduct charge, which could result in being moved to a segregation cell.
Hussein told Plouffe he was suicidal. Plouffe told the inquest he notified the health care unit and spoke to a psychologist. Plouffe had the discretion to file a misconduct charge at the time but didn’t do so.
Tim Hannah, manager of the segregation unit at the time of Hussein’s death, said he put Hussein back in segregation after he was cleared from suicide watch because he understood Hussein was on misconduct. Hannah said he didn’t recall where he got that information, but there was no way to check into it through an electronic record. Until Hannah could find out whether Hussein was on misconduct, Hussein would be placed in segregation.
Cells in the segregated areas are checked by officers every 20 minutes, said Hannah. Those on suicide watch are checked every 10 minutes.
Hannah said that, if there was any indication that Hussein planned to take his own life, he would have been placed on suicide watch.
An inmate in a cell near Hussein’s also appeared before the inquest on Wednesday.
Nathan Gagnon, currently an inmate at the Central East Correction Centre in Lindsay, was interviewed on tape by a coroner’s investigator and appeared in person Wednesday under police guard.
In the nine-minute taped interview, Gagnon said that just before lunch on April 8, he heard Hussein objecting to the transfer, saying if he didn’t get his property was going to kill himself.
A “white shirt” — prison talk for an operational manager — told Hussein to go ahead (and kill himself ), said Gagnon.
Gagnon said he did not know the officer’s name.
On Wednesday, Gagnon declined to answer questions about the tape, saying he has suffered several head injuries recently and couldn’t remember.
“What I said on that tape was a complete lie,” he said.
Hussein’s death was one of three suicides by hanging at the jail within a 10-month period.
The Hussein inquest is expected to wrap up on Friday.