SYDNEY, N.S. — A Halifax woman, whose antics in Cape Breton earlier this year resulted in the evacuations of two public buildings including the Sydney Justice Centre, has been found guilty on several offences and granted an absolute discharge.
Karin Ann Sorensen, 47, was found guilty on four counts of breaching court orders and single counts of causing a disturbance, carrying a weapon dangerous to public peace (a knife), and mischief relating to a damaged sprinkler head inside a justice centre interview room.
All of the offences occurred in April.
An absolute discharge means an offender has been found or pleaded guilty, but the conviction is not recorded as part of a criminal record.
Sorensen had spent more than 100 days on remand, mainly at the East Coast Forensic Hospital, before a final disposition in her case.
The sentence was imposed at the conclusion of a hearing into whether Sorensen was not criminally responsible for her actions because of a mental disorder.
The application for such a designation was brought by the Crown and only dealt with offences that occurred April 5-6 in Groves Point and Sydney — two counts of breaching court orders, causing a disturbance and carrying a weapon.
During a three-day hearing, conducted between July and September, the court heard testimony from two psychiatrists — one for the Crown and one for the defence — who offered different opinions.
It was the Crown’s position that Sorensen suffered from a serious psychotic disorder with multiple delusions that affected her knowledge of the nature and quality of her actions.
It was the position of the defence that Sorensen suffers from a personality disorder with paranoid and schizoid personality traits. The argument advanced was that while her actions were founded in bad judgement, she was aware of the nature and consequences of her actions.
In a lengthy final decision, provincial court Judge Diane McGrath ruled the Crown failed to meet its burden and the court was entering guilty pleas.
A finding of not criminally responsible would have meant that Sorensen would be confined to a mental health facility and released back into the community only after a review board deemed it appropriate.
Sorenson was first arrested in Cape Breton after being found wandering in and out of traffic in Groves Point on April 5.
She explained her actions were a bid to call attention to the homelessness she was experiencing at the time.
She had previously been released on conditions from a Halifax court after being found wandering in and out of traffic in Halifax.
She was released on conditions in Sydney but was soon back behind bars after she is alleged to have armed herself with a knife and barricaded herself in a shelving unit at Home Depot, resulting in an evacuation.
The following week, while still in custody, she is alleged to have triggered a sprinkler head inside the Sydney Justice Centre, prompting another brief evacuation of a public building.
She has also refused to talk with lawyers about her case, had demanded a human rights lawyer be appointed to her case and further claimed she was on a hunger strike.
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