Ex-student attacked University of Waterloo gender-studies class to 'instil fear,' sentencing hearing told

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.

Federal prosecutors at the sentencing hearing of a former student who went on a stabbing rampage at the University of Waterloo in southern Ontario last year told court on Tuesday that his actions were ideologically motivated.

On Tuesday, the second day of proceedings for Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, 25, federal Crown attorney Howard Piafsky detailed the assault-related charges, which he had pleaded guilty to, as well as terror-related offences that are being considered as part of sentencing. 

Villalba-Aleman pleaded guilty in June to four assault-related charges in the stabbing of two students and Katherine Fulfer, an associate professor, in Hagey Hall in June 2023.

Piafsky said 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.

The maximum penalty for the federal charges against him is life in prison. Prosecutors are looking to get 16 years. 

On Monday, the first day of the week-long sentencing hearing in Kitchener, statements from Fulfer and the students who were victimized by Villalba Aleman were read in court.

On Tuesday, court heard from Villalba-Aleman through his police interview, recorded the day of the attack. 

Villalba Aleman is seen dressed in a white jumpsuit, sitting at a small table, beside an officer, in the middle of a room. Villalba Aleman detailed the attack and said it was never his intention to kill anyone. 

"It wasn't personal," he said at the beginning of the interview. He later added he "just wanted to protect the freedom of academia."

Villalba Aleman is a recent graduate who came to Canada in 2018 to enrol in the physics program at the University of Waterloo. After graduating a little later than usual, he told the officer, he was focused on getting work experience before going on to pursue his master's degree. 

Over time, he said, he grew concerned with the ideology being taught in gender-studies courses. He said "woke" ideology was being forced upon classes.

During their address to the court, Piafsky and fellow federal prosecutor Althea Francis noted multiple other legal precedents and repeatedly referenced the case of Nathaniel Veltman, the man who killed four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont., and severely injured a fifth in a hate-motivated attack in June 2021.