Guelph Police say high-risk offender back in custody

A man who police say was involved in two sexual assaults involving strangers, is back in custody. CTV’s Krista Simpson has the details.

A man who was deemed a high-risk offender is back in the custody of Guelph Police.

Medhani Yohans, 35, was released from custody on March 1 after serving a custodial sentence. Police issued a warning to the public, citing his history of violence, which included two sexual assaults involving strangers.

Yohans was arrested again March 8 after he allegedly breached a probation order by not reporting to authorities following his release. He was held for a bail hearing and then released by the court March 9.

Around midnight on March 10, Yohans was found sleeping on the University of Guelph campus. School officials said he was immediately removed by Campus Safety Officers.

Later that morning, Yohans was re-arrested for allegedly breaching a court order by being close to an address he had been ordered to stay away from.

“Yohans poses a risk to the community, particularly to women, and [we] are concerned that he may commit similar offences in the future,” police said in a media release.

He remains in custody pending a bail hearing on Thursday.

Guelph police admitted that letting the community know about his release was not typical for them.

“It is quite unusual that we release names and photos of individuals. We sort of reserve that for the most serious cases when we feel that the safety of the public obviously outweighs the privacy of the individual. That’s why we took that quite unusual step,” said Scott Tracey with Guelph police.

This is the first time they took that measure.

Police also put out an alert in the summer when Yohans was released from custody then. He was arrested again not long after.

Guelph police believe he should not be released again but ultimately the decision is up to the court.