University of Waterloo stabbing was hate crime, not terrorism: judge

An Ontario court has found that a stabbing at a University of Waterloo gender studies class was not terrorism but constituted a “particularly grave” hate crime.

The judge sentencing Geovanny Villalba-Aleman says the evidence does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his hatred toward the LGBTQ+ community had crystallized into an ideology, which is one of the requirements for a finding of terrorism.

However, she says that hatred was “the primary motivation” for the June 2023 stabbing, which is a significant aggravating assault.

Villalba-Aleman, 25, had pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm in the attack that left a professor and two students with stab wounds.

The federal Crown had sought a sentence of 16 years if the offences were found to be terrorist activity, while provincial prosecutors asked for a 13-year sentence if the judge rejected the terrorism argument but found the attack was hate-motivated.

The defence meanwhile, previously argued a sentence of eight years, minus credit for time already spent in custody, would be more appropriate if the judge accepted the terrorism argument, or one of five to six years if the offences were found to be hate-motivated.

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