The former student who pleaded guilty in the 2023 stabbing rampage in a University of Waterloo gender-studies class in 2023 told his sentencing hearing Friday that he apologizes for his actions and to people who’ve been impacted by them.
Geovanny Villalba Aleman, 25, spoke on the fifth and final day of proceedings in Kitchener’s Ontario Court of Justice.
He began his apology by addressing “anyone who might be affected” by his choice to attack the class in Hagey Hall.
“I admitted violence is not good for any reason.”
“When I was I child, I never learned to trust,” he added, reflecting on how he witnessed his father beat his mother, his dad would apologize and then he’d repeat the cycle of violence. He described how that eroded his trust in his father’s apologies, but said his apology to the court is sincere.
“I just want to apologize to people who thought it was very horrible,” he said, acknowledging some people may not believe him.
The hearing began Monday with victim impact statements, including from associate professor Katherine Fulfer and the two students who were injured in the attack.
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 said 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.
On Tuesday, the Crown detailed the assault-related charges he pleaded guilty to this June as well as the federal terror-related count being considered as part of sentencing. Lawyer Howard Piafsky told the 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.
Brennan will review the evidence presented in sentencing court and expects to hand down the sentence on Jan. 27.
Fulfer was in attendance every day of the sentencing hearing. She did not want to be interviewed outside court after the hearing ended on Friday.
Debate over defining ex-student’s ideology
Defence counsel argue it’s difficult to exactly pinpoint what Villalba Aleman’s ideology is because he was hard to understand during his lengthy interview with police right after the attack.
Cooper Lord, one of the defence lawyers, said there were over 350 words that were marked as “indiscernible” in the transcription of his interview with police.
Lord pointed out Fulfer had described the ex-student as looking “resigned” during the attack.
“I take that to mean his heart wasn’t in it,” Lord told the court.
The lawyer went on to challenge the Crown’s suggestion that his actions during Pride month were intentional timing because his mental state was deteriorating months prior to the attack.
Lord pointed out the part of the police interview where the ex-student told the officer, “I’m not a transphobe to be honest,” and added his primary motivation was based on protecting free speech or academia.
Piafsky doubled down on the position that he did attack because of his ideology and should be found guilty of terrorism, and not just hate, which would come with a lesser sentence.
“He’s not just targeting the LGBTQ community,” Piafsky said. “His motivation is not just hate — it’s a political and ideological concern.”
Piafsky and Brennan proceeded to have a lengthy back and forth about the best way to define the man’s ideology, and whether it meets the Criminal Code’s definition of what constitutes terrorism.
