Dangerous offender hearing continues for Kohl
Man sexually assaulted Canadian Tire employee in 2015
No sentence, other than being jailed indefinitely, can “adequately protect the public” from a Niagara man who sexually assaulted a teenager over a 20minute period after luring her into a store bathroom, court heard Tuesday.
Kevin Kohl pleaded guilty in April 2016 to several charges, including sexual assault with a weapon stemming from a harrowing incident on Sept. 15, 2015, when he brutally assaulted a 19-year-old Canadian Tire employee.
The Crown is now seeking to have the 44-year-old declared a dangerous offender. If declared a dangerous offender, he could be jailed indefinitely.
“There is no reasonable expectation that any sentence, other than indeterminate, will adequately protect the public,” assistant Crown attorney Jacquie Strecansky told Judge Peter Wilkie on Tuesday in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines.
Kohl went to the Canadian Tire store on Welland Avenue in St. Catharines that night to inject himself with drugs in the store's washroom.
Along the way he encountered the 19-year-old employee and was able to lure the unsuspecting teen inside the washroom by asking for assistance.
Kohl locked the bathroom door and proceeded to assault the young woman for more than 20 minutes, while threatening her with a drug-filled syringe.
At one point the woman tried to use her cellphone to call for help. Her phone recorded a brief video of her struggling with Kohl.
In her closing submissions Tuesday, Strecansky outlined Kohl’s lengthy criminal record.
His record includes a number of convictions for robbery. In one case, he rented a limousine and instructed the driver to go to a St. Catharines bank. Kohl then robbed the bank and returned to the limo. The driver, unaware of what had happened, was pulled over by police a short while later.
In December 2001, he was convicted of sexual assault after a woman claimed he had forced her to perform oral sex while he was driving. The assault ended
when the car ran out of gas and the woman was able to escape.
In 2002, he was sentenced to more than five years in jail after pleading guilty to two robberies which occurred at the same Port Colborne gas station.
During one robbery, court was told, Kohl punched a 44-year-old clerk in the face, breaking his jaw. The victim had to undergo surgery to repair the damage, which required the removal of three teeth.
Kohl told authorities he was “high on cocaine” at the time of the sexual assault and the robberies.
In November 2006, he was arrested for criminal harassment after he confronted a female jogger in Port Dalhousie. The 40-year-old woman, who was training for a marathon at the time, ran from the defendant and was pursued by Kohl.
A forensic psychiatrist testified earlier that he considers Kohl to be “of moderate to high risk” to re-offend.
He diagnosed Kohl as having an anti-social personality disorder, a sadistic disorder and a substance abuse disorder.
Treatment options, the doctor explained, should include programs that focus on the concept of consent and the development of healthy relationships as well as treatment to addresses his substance abuse issues.
A second forensic psychiatrist told court he doesn’t believe the defendant is a sexual sadist. He said the man’s behaviour can turn unpredictable and violent when he is under the influence of drugs.
The judge could also designate him as a long-term offender. That designation would require him to be supervised for 10 years after finishing any jail sentence imposed by the court.
The hearing continues today.