KITCHENER, ON — The man who stabbed three people during a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo last year says he is remorseful and wants to apologize to anyone affected by his action of violence.

Geovanny Villalba-Aleman addressed the court today at the end of his sentencing hearing, saying his intention was not to promote violence and that he did not know ‘what was going on’ in his head.

The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm in the June 2023 attack that left a professor and two students with stabbings.

Federal prosecutors argued the offenses amounted to terrorism in this case because they were ideologically motivated and aimed to intimidate the public, while provincial prosecutors argued the crimes were motivated by hate.

The provincial Crown cited Villalba-Aleman’s hateful remarks against feminists and members of the LGBTQ+ community in a manifesto written before the attack among the aggravating factors the court must take into account in sentencing .

But the defense argues that Villalba-Aleman’s motivation was his belief that “left-wing thinking” was stifling his free speech, and that the court should view his statements to police as a more accurate reflection of his thoughts than that. that he wrote.

Defense lawyers rejected the idea that the attack was ideologically motivated and also said the federal Crown had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that terrorist activity took place in the case.

As the week-long sentencing hearing drew to a close Friday afternoon, Ontario Court Justice Frances Brennan asked Villalba-Aleman if he wanted to say anything to the court.

He responded that he wanted to apologize “to anyone who may be affected by this” and said he believed the violence was “not good” regardless of the reason.

“Even though I committed a violent attack, I still don’t know what happened,” he said. “Right now, I don’t know what’s going on in my head. I still have remorse for what happened.”

Villalba-Aleman said some people might not believe his apology since “the deed is done,” but he asked the judge to take his remorse into account.

“If there is any way to reconsider the situation, because I accept that violence is not good…my intention was not to promote more violence here,” he said.

Villalba-Aleman, an international student who arrived in Canada from Ecuador in 2018, initially faced 11 charges in the case.

The court heard he would eventually face a deportation order.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 25, 2024.

Sonja Puzic, The Canadian Press