Kohl ‘high risk’ to re-offend: psychiatrist

A Niagara man who sexually assaulted a teenager while armed with a drug-filled syringe described himself as “Jekyll and Hyde” when he does drugs.

“(When under the influence) he becomes aggressive, impulsive and ready to engage in criminal conduct,” a forensic psychiatrist wrote in an assessment report on 44-year-old Kevin Kohl.

Kohl pleaded guilty in April 2016 to several charges, including sexual assault with a weapon, stemming from an incident in

2015 when he brutally assaulted a 19-year-old employee at a Canadian Tire store.

The Crown is seeking to have the St. Catharines man declared a dangerous offender. If declared a dangerous offender, he could be jailed indefinitely.

In her closing submissions to Judge Peter Wilkie on Wednesday in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines, assistant Crown attorney Jacquie Strecansky referred to two detailed reports submitted by forensic psychiatrists who examined the defendant. Both psychiatrists diagnosed Kohl as having an antisocial personality disorder as well as a substance abuse disorder.

The physicians also agree that if Kohl was to return to using drugs, the risk would increase substantially.

“They point to a future risk that is very real,” Strecansky told the judge.

On Sept. 15, 2015, Kohl went to the Canadian Tire store on Welland Avenue in St. Catharines to inject himself with drugs in the store’s washroom. Along the way he encountered the young woman and was able to lure the unsuspecting teen inside the washroom by asking for assistance. Once inside, Kohl locked the door and assaulted the young woman for more than 20 minutes, while threatening her with a drug-filled syringe. Kohl told authorities he was “high on cocaine” at the time.

Court heard the defendant has undergone various treatment programs for substance abuse in the past, with varying degrees of success. Kohl told one psychiatrist he is now “100 per cent committed” to treatment.

“If he uses drugs, to a medical certainty, he would re-offend,” the physician noted. The second psychiatrist echoed that.

“His risk of offending is very high … almost certain,” he wrote.

The hearing continues Dec. 11.