WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.
The former student of the University of Waterloo, Ontario, who declared himself guilty of a uproar stabbing in a kind of gender studies in 2023 on Monday was sentenced to 11 years in prison when he appeared in a Kitchener court.
Geovanny Villalba-German, 25, will not be accused of terrorism, but the judge described his actions as a “particularly serious hate crime.”
In June 2024, he declared himself guilty of two aggravated assault charges and an assault charge causing bodily damage and assault with a weapon.
Villalba-German also faced possible terrorism positions, but Judge Frances Brennan said Monday that they were no longer considered because “their actions were not ideologically motivated.”
“This is a particularly serious hate crime. Mr. Villalba-German planned his attack, published a boastful and hateful statement of his intentions and committed crime in a university classroom, without a doubt attract generalized attention to his crime,” said Brennan as part of his sentence hearing.
“This was not an impulsive act of any definition. Mr. Villalba-German was deliberate and calculated. He intended to inflict and inflicted a generalized fear.”
The convicted man receives credit for the time attended
Two students and Katherine Fulfer, associated professor, were stabbed in Hagey Hall on June 28, 2023. At that time, the police described him “a motivated incident of hatred related to gender expression and gender identity.”
Villalba-German received:
- 11 years for aggravated assault against Fulfer.
- Six years for aggravated assault on one of the students.
- 18 months per assault causing body damage to one of the students.
- Six months in assault with a weapon in one of the students.
The teacher who was stabbed during a kind of gender studies at the University of Waterloo in June 2023 is talking. Katy Fulfer reflects on what made a former student attack her with two kitchen knives inside a classroom where she was teaching a gender philosophy course. She spoke with Aastha Shetty of CBC about the role we all have to play to build a safe world.
Prayers are concurrent. Over time, Villalba-German has just over seven years in prison.
In the first segment of the Judgment Hearing last fall, as part of the victim’s impact statements, Fulfer and the students shared the physical and emotional pain they have suffered as a result of the attack. He marked the first time Fulfer talked about what they experienced.
The maximum penalty for the federal positions faced by the former student is life imprisonment. The crown was asking for a sentence from nine to 16 years.
While the case extended through the courts, images of a body chamber used by the police officer were presented, showing Villalba-German who finally confesses the attack.
The video shows the former student first pretending to be a victim of the stabbed attack, describing a perpetrator with the same hair and height as himself, before saying “put the wives because it was me.” His confession was followed by an apology to university, adding that it was “a personal problem.”
Villalba-Aleman spoke at his sentence hearing in October.
“I admitted that violence is not good for any reason,” he said.
“I just want to apologize to the people who thought it was very horrible.” He also acknowledged that some people may not believe him.
Wounded instructor thanks UW Community
Fulfer issued a statement on Monday when Villalba-German was sentenced.
“The sentence marks the end of the legal process, but our community works to cultivate inclusive spaces of belonging.
“To my gender and social justice colleagues and in philosophy, and other teachers and personnel whose teaching, research or work advances social justice: thank you. You appear to our students and others. Every day you strive to make visible the urgency of teaching and research on equity and gender justice throughout the campus.”
Full statement of the instructor of the University of Waterloo Katy Fulfer:
After the attack in Hagey Hall in June 2023, I received a lot of support from the entire campus and the Kitchener-Waterloo community, of friends, students, colleagues and strangers. Academics and survivors around the world came in care and solidarity. This support was vital for me, especially in the first months after the attack.
I would also like to thank the lawyers of the provincial and federal crown for their work, and my link with the crown for their support throughout the legal process.
The sentence marks the end of the legal process, but our community works to cultivate inclusive spaces of belonging. No one should experience what my students and I did on June 28, 2023.
To my colleagues of gender and social justice and in philosophy, and other teachers and personnel whose teaching, research or work advances social justice: thank you. They introduce you to our students and others. Every day the urgency of teaching and research on gender equity and justice throughout campus is visible. For professor Carla Fehr, her leadership is a bright light. I am grateful to all those who support and help make this work possible. I am also grateful to the W3 + community (Waterloo Womxn + no Binary Wednesday) on the campus for their work held by the community for women and non -binary people throughout the campus.
Finally, to students who continue to take gender courses and social justice, thanks for being here, for their courage and enthusiastic commitment.
