A man who punched two women, one pregnant, and spat at a police officer in central Victoria last year has been found not criminally responsible by reason of serious mental disorder. Brett Joseph Mountford, 33, was convicted of assault causing bodily harm in connection with the attacks on the two women and assaulting a police officer on March 19, 2021. Mountford punched a pregnant woman on Pandora Avenue and, moments later, hit another woman walking in the area near Johnson and Wharf streets. Later, he spat at the arresting officer. “These attacks on the two women were completely random, completely unprovoked and very frightening for them,” Victorian District Court Judge Christine Lowe said. Mountford was in a dream-like state at the time of the attacks and did not believe people were real, the judge told an evidence hearing. “It appeared from his comments that he saw the world as if he were in a dream, almost a dream from which he could not escape.” As he walked down the street, Mountford saw people laughing and assumed they were dream characters. It disappointed him because he was taking life seriously and obviously he wasn’t. “They were laughing at things and he felt like he was being pressured to die,” he said. Lowe found that although Mountford appreciated the nature of his actions, he was unable to understand that they were wrong because nothing was real to him. Defense lawyer Chantelle Sutton welcomed the judge’s decision, saying it would protect the public for longer. “It also allows Mr. Mountford to get the help he’s needed for years and never received in the prison system,” Sutton said. Mountford was transferred from the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Center to the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam in late December. He was certified under the Mental Health Act and involuntarily admitted to hospital for treatment for ongoing psychosis on January 25. It remains there today. Mountford was previously evaluated in 2018 and found to have a severe meth use disorder. He was evaluated by a second psychiatrist in January 2020, who concluded that Mountford was suffering from psychosis in the context of a severe methamphetamine disorder. The psychiatrist suggested that Mountford also had schizophrenia. Dr Sophie Anhoury, medical director of the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, found that Mountford’s psychosis may indicate he has an ongoing underlying mental disorder such as schizophrenia. “I find that Mr Mountford’s underlying psychiatric condition made him vulnerable to psychosis and that pre-existing condition makes him a threat to others,” Lowe said. [email protected]
