The sentencing hearing for the man who pleaded guilty to four assault related charges after a triple stabbing in a UW gender studies class got underway at a Kitchener courthouse on Monday, Oct. 21. 

On June 28, 2023, Geovanny Villalba Aleman entered Hagey Hall room 139 which was occupied by Philosophy 202: Gender Issues and stabbed three people, including one professor and two students. All sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were sent to the hospital.

On Monday, the professor, Katy Fulfer, described the lasting impact of the incident. “In the aftermath, my sleep was disrupted,” she said. “Sometimes I would wake up, face soaked in tears from crying in my sleep.” 

She worried that others may be emboldened to commit similar attacks. 

The two students stabbed in the incident also described the physical, emotional and professional impact of the attack in statements which were read aloud by the Crown.

On Tuesday, the court saw a video of a police interview on the day of the attack. Villalba Aleman said he did not know anyone in the class and it was “nothing personal,” later adding that he wanted to “protect the freedom of academia.” 

While the maximum penalty for these federal charges is life in prison, crown attorneys Howard Piafsky and Althea Francis are looking for 16 years, and said the attack was ideologically motivated. “We know that, because we repeatedly asserted that, and expressly ruled out other explanations such as personal animus,” Piafsky said. 

Villalba Aleman said in the video that it was always his plan to surrender to police, and that his “objective was not to stab deep.”

Piafsky said there were “self serving” aspects to this, as it occurred after the attack.

Five days have been set aside for the sentencing phase.