University of Waterloo stabber will spend another seven years behind bars, cleared on terrorism charge

Police body cam footage shows Geovanny Villalba-Aleman holding up his arms as he mimics the alleged attacker. (Source: Court exhibit)

Geovanny Villalba-Aleman will spend another seven years and six months behind bars for the 2023 triple stabbing at the University of Waterloo, while the terrorism charge against him has been dropped.

Villalba-Aleman previously pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault causing bodily harm and one count of assault with a weapon.

On Monday, the judge sentenced Villalba-Aleman to 11 years on the first aggravated assault charge, 6 years for the second aggravated assault charge, 18 months for assault causing bodily harm and 6 months for assault with a weapon. All of them will be served concurrently.

Villalba-Aleman has already spent 627 days behind bars, but the court credited his pre-sentencing custody at 1,254 days.

As of Monday, he’ll remain behind bars for another 7 years, 6 months, 6 weeks and 5 days.

Terrorism charge

Villalba-Aleman, a 24-year-old international student who had recently graduated from the university, stabbed two students and a professor during a gender studies class on June 28, 2023. He also left a ripped-up Pride flag on a desk.

After his arrest, Villalba-Aleman told officers the attack was meant to be a “wake-up call.”

“I was concerned about the ideologies,” he explained.

“The ideologies?” the officer asked.

“Yeah, the gender studies,” Villalba-Aleman responded. “They were gender studies.”

He also said his actions were motivated by a “desire to protect freedom of academia.” Students, he claimed, wanted education and not indoctrination.

• CASE REVIEW: Geovanny Villalba-Aleman pleads guilty in UW triple stabbing
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Court later heard Villalba-Aleman had something he called a “manifesto” where he discussed “woke” culture.

The Crown argued Villalba-Aleman did not have a specific ideology, but rather a collection of extreme right-wing views.

Justice Frances Brennan pointed out during sentencing submissions that, without a single, clear and identifiable ideological framework, it would be difficult to determine if Villalba-Aleman’s actions were ideologically driven.

“I’m concerned the definition you are asking me to adopt is so broad we will dilute what we mean by terrorist motivation,” she said.

On Monday, the judge decided to drop the terrorism charge against Villalba-Aleman.

Justice Brennan said the court could not define his broad-ranging worldview as an ideology and it also did not meet the threshold set for a terrorism charge. The criteria included a religious, political or ideological motivation, with intent to intimidate the public and cause serious injury or harm.

She called Villalba-Aleman’s beliefs as too “scattered and disparate” to be classified as an ideology.

“To describe Mr. Villalba-Aleman’s worldview as a mix of conservative beliefs and hatred towards the 2SLGBTQ+ community is not sufficient evidence of a comprehensive set of beliefs,” the judge said. “I do not have sufficient evidence to find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Mr. Villalba-Aleman was ideologically motivated on that basis alone. I find that these offenses were not terrorist activities.”

The attack did, however, meet the definition of a hate-motivated crime.

“He attacked a gender studies class, in part because he believed the people he saw at these Pride events would be ‘hiding’ in such a class... he needed to do something to stop these ‘activists,’” the judge explained, adding that the one constant in Villalba-Aleman’s actions was his “distain for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.”

“I am satisfied that the Crown has proven beyond all reasonable doubt that these offences were motivated, in large part, by hate based on sexual identity and gender,” Justice Brennan said.

Villalba-Aleman‘s defense team was satisfied with the sentence.

“We’re thrilled, actually, that [the judge] agreed with us that the terrorism statute didn’t apply to the case,” said Cooper Lord, one of Villalba-Aleman‘s lawyers.

Terrorism charges are rare, the defense explained, and very difficult to establish.

“The Crown has to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that there was an ideology and part of the judge’s decision today was about not meeting that evidentiary burden,” explained Mel Edwardh, another of Villalba-Aleman‘s lawyers. “She equated the ideology akin to a broken plate being a mosaic. Basically, that there were a lot of grievances that Mr. Villalba-Aleman had. But to characterize it all as an ideology was a step too far.”

Federal prosecutors said they will be requesting a review of the judge’s decision.

Parole and post-parole restrictions

The Crown had asked for a special order to deny Villalba-Aleman parole, but the court ultimately decided he must serve no less than half his sentence.

Villalba-Aleman will be eligible for parole in a little more than three and a half years.

Once released, he will likely be deported.

Villalba-Aleman was ordered to submit his DNA to the court and have no communication with the victims. He was also given a lifetime ban from owning any restricted weapon, including a crossbow, ammunition or explosive device.

Victim responds

Dr. Katy Fulfer was the gender studies professor attacked on campus in 2023.

She testified that Villalba-Aleman pulled out a knife and slashed her hand, bicep and nose.

Fulfer told the court she still experienced nightmares and “would wake up, face soaked in tears from crying in my sleep.” She said she felt shame and cowardice surrounding the attack, wondering what she could have done differently. It also, she added, changed the way she taught students.

Ahead of Villalba-Aleman’s sentencing on Monday, Fulfer released a statement.

It read, in part: “Following the attack in Hagey Hall in June 2023, I received an outpouring of support from across campus and the Kitchener-Waterloo community, from friends, students, colleagues, and strangers. Academics and survivors across the world reached out in care and solidarity. This support was vital to me, especially in the initial months following the attack.”

“I would also like to thank the provincial and federal Crown attorneys for their work, and my liaison with the Crown for his support throughout the legal process,” she continued. “Sentencing marks an end to the legal process, but our community work to cultivate inclusive spaces of belonging continues. No one should experience what my students and I did on June 28, 2023.”

The statement concluded: “To the students who continue to take courses in gender and social justice, thank you for being here, for your bravery and enthusiastic engagement.”

- With reporting by Jeff Pickel