UWaterloo stabbing deemed a hate crime, attacker sentenced to 11 years

The Ontario Court of Justice has sentenced former University of Waterloo student Geovanny Villalba-Aleman to 11 years in prison for the hate-motivated stabbings committed on campus in 2023. Villalba-Aleman was not charged with terrorism, but Brennan judged his actions to constitute a “particularly grave hate crime” that was “deliberate and calculated.” After receiving credit for time served, Villalba-Aleman will spend another seven and a half years in prison. In a statement released after the sentencing, UWaterloo Instructor Katy Fulfer expressed gratitude both to those academics and community members who reached out to her after the attack and to the students who continue to take gender and social justice courses.