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We’ll have to wait until next Wednesday to see if a man who briefly kidnapped a child from a Hamilton school yard will be found criminally responsible for his actions. At the end of a hearing today, both the Crown and the defence seemed to agree that Dakota Hart was not criminally responsible when he grabbed a young boy from the playground at Earl Kitchener elementary school last October – but the final word rests with Judge Bernard Sable, who will give his decision next Wednesday.
Today’s hearing hinged on the testimony Dr. Joseph Ferencz, a forensic psychiatrist at St. Joe’s in Hamilton. Dr. Ferencz has been monitoring Dakota Hart since his arrest last October. Dr. Ferencz described Mr. Hart as a man who’s mental state constantly fluctuates. He said Mr. Hart has emotional issues from his past and describe his state at times as being “acute state of mania” and “extreme state of psychosis”.
It was October 23rd when Dakota Hart grabbed young boy from the playground at Earl Kitchener Elementary School, and began to walk down the street, only to have the boy struggle away to safety. Mr. Hart was taken into custody later that day, but on a separate matter. In court today, Dr. Ferencz said that Dakota Hart has given many different accounts of that day – at one point saying that he did it to show a flaw in the system, and another where Mr. Hart says he had confused the child with a piece of wood. Dakota Hart pleaded not guilty to all charges today. He is currently in custody in St. Joe’s on W5th in Hamilton. If he is found not to be criminally responsible, he will appear in front of a review board that decided weather or not he is a threat to the public.
