MANDEL: Another poster boy for catch and release justice
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Medhani Yohans is a poster boy for the scourge of catch and release justice.
Yohans, 36, appeared virtually in a Guelph courtroom and was remanded in custody to Wednesday when he is slated to have yet another of his many bail hearings. We’re pretty sure he’s not worried — they seem to always go his way.
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Again. And again.
Convicted of sexual assault involving unwanted touching of two female strangers, Yohans has been described as a “high risk offender” by Guelph Police in three public warnings they’ve issued each time he’s been released from custody over this past year.
The latest bulletin came in a July 24 warning that Yohans had been released after serving time in Guelph: “His whereabouts are presently unknown. He has a history of violence, that includes two stranger sexual assaults. The Guelph Police Service believes that Yohans poses a risk to the community, particularly to women, and is concerned that he may commit similar offences in the future.”
Within just 24 hours of Yohan’s release, he was charged with four counts of breach of probation, disobeying a court order and criminal harassment.
“A woman with whom he had an interaction about a year ago called police Friday morning because she saw him on her way to work and he then (allegedly) followed her and attempted to gain entry to her workplace,” explained Guelph Police spokesman Scott Tracey.
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Shall we take bets on how soon he’s released again?
Yohans has been in trouble since at least 2018. According to one news report in April of that year, Guelph Police had arrested him three times in one weekend for allegedly breaking into vehicles, trying to dine and dash and exposing himself. He’d be released on bail only to be rearrested hours later.
In January 2023, the charges were more serious: Tracey said Yohans was arrested for sexual assaults on two strangers, one of them a teenaged international student, that involved allegations of unwanted touching in public places — one on a sidewalk and the other inside a social service agency.
Guelph Police said they don’t usually issue public warnings but their concern about Yohans warranted three.
The first bulletin, accompanied by his photo, was issued in August 2024 warning women in particular that he’d been released from custody in Toronto after serving his sentence for the sexual assaults but hadn’t reported in as required.
Later that month, Yohans was arrested for two counts of not complying with release conditions.
In February 2025, Guelph Police issued another warning to the community that Yohans was about to be released March 1 after completing his sentence. He was rearrested March 8 for allegedly breaching his probation order by not reporting to authorities following his release. He was was freed on bail, of course, on March 9.
On March 10, the University of Guelph issued a safety bulletin warning students that Yohans had been found sleeping on a bench and had been kicked out by campus safety officers. Later that same day, Guelph Police charged him with allegedly breaching a no-contact order.
Last week, Yohans was released from custody after completing his latest sentence — and just a day later, he’s back in the slammer.
The revolving door of this criminal’s life is dizzying. Four arrests in the last year alone. Will he now be freed once more by our ever-optimistic justice system?
The Guelph Police spokesman took pains not to criticize the judiciary — but made it obvious the cops don’t want this guy released on bail yet again.
“Now that he’s back in custody, it’s in the court’s hands ultimately what they decide to do in terms of whether to release him or not,” Tracey said. “But I think we’ve made it clear that we do believe he represents an active and ongoing risk to the community when he’s at large.”
Hopefully, which ever justice of the peace or judge presiding over his bail hearing will finally feel the same.
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