Crown details prison terms sought for University of Waterloo stabber if actions ruled hate, terror

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.

Crown lawyers at the sentencing hearing for the former student who pleaded guilty in the 2023 stabbings in a University of Waterloo gender-studies class are asking for him to receive nine to 16 years in prison, depending on whether the judge determines if his actions amounted to terrorism.

Thursday marked the fourth day of the week-long sentencing in the Ontario Court of Justice in Kitchener. The hearing began Monday with victim impact statements, including from associate professor Katherine Fulfer and the two students who were stabbed by Geovanny Villalba Aleman in Hagey Hall in June 2023.

On Tuesday, the Crown detailed the assault-related charges, which he had pleaded guilty to this June, as well as the federal terror-related count being considered as part of sentencing. Lawyer Howard Piafsky told the Ontario Court of Justice hearing that Villalba-Aleman acted "to instil fear into his perceived enemies."

One of the key components of terrorism under Canadian law is that the act must have been committed for a political, religious or ideological purpose.

If it's determined Villalba Aleman carried out a hate-motivated attack, the Crown is asking Justice Frances Brennan to sentence the 25-year-old to a 13-year prison term. For a guilty finding on the terror charge, which could carry up to life in prison, the Crown is seeking 16 years. 

The Crown is asking for a nine-year term if it's determined the attacks were not terror- or hate-motivated. 

Villalba Aleman will be subject to a deportation order after serving his sentence, but that won't factor into Brennan's sentencing.

Context, timing, location of attack 'speak volumes'

On Thursday, Crown lawyer Armin Sethi said Villalba Aleman's manifesto, which he told police he posted online before the attack, clearly outlines the specific groups he wanted to act out against.

The manifesto details Villalba Aleman's distaste for transgender people, and the use of pronouns and censorship. She noted how during the attack, he called one of his victims a Marxist before cutting her face.

During his police interview, he told Waterloo regional police that he was motivated to carry out the attack because of various demonstrations and protests he saw on campus in the two weeks leading up to it.

Sethi also highlighted the timing of the attack: June, which is Pride month.

"The context, timing and location speak volumes about why [Villalba Aleman] did what he did," Sethi said.

Earlier this week, Dr. Smita Vir Tyagi, a forensic and clinical psychologist retained by the defence, presented a report to the court that weighed in on his mental state. The psychologist told court she learned he had a poor sense of self-worth and found social interactions to be stressful, and she diagnosed him with bipolar disorder, adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Tyagi clarified her diagnosis for Villalba Aleman was based on his own words and descriptions of his mental state before and during the attack, so she couldn't  say with absolute certainty whether he was going through a psychotic break during the attack or if he'd ever experienced a psychotic break in his life.