Nine days after the attack committed against a 10-year-old child who was seriously scalded while walking in front of a residence in Longueuil, police announced the filing of charges against Stéphanie Borel, 46 years old.
The woman, suspected of having thrown a pot of boiling water on the boy who was walking past her house with classmates on the afternoon of October 2, will face at least one charge of assault serious, according to the Longueuil Agglomeration Police Service (SPAL).
A court-issued publication ban now prevents us from identifying the child and his family members.
Stéphanie Borel, who lives near the victim’s residence, was arrested the same day of the attack. However, she was released in exchange for a promise to appear and conditions to be respected, including not communicating with the child and his family.
However, the woman was arrested again this morning. Following the acquisition of new investigative elements, the file was submitted to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) who authorized the charges and requested the issuance of an arrest warrant today
explains SPAL in a press release.
Met at the Longueuil courthouse, the prosecutor of DPCP Gabriella St-Onge confirmed that this detention appears necessary for the continuation of the procedures given the nature of the facts in the file
.
She also confirmed that the evidence collected allowed the defendant to be charged with aggravated assault, a more serious charge than the counts of assault with injury and assault with a weapon that had initially been filed.
The prosecutor mentioned the public confidence in the administration of justice
as well as the victim safety
to oppose the release of Stéphanie Borel.
Her release following such an attack had aroused the indignation of many people and questions about the functioning of the judicial system, in particular because of the completely gratuitous nature of the alleged attack and the fact that the accused lives near a school.
The boy and his father tell
Questioned by our journalist Karine Bastien, the boy said that the woman had told him That will teach you how to knock on people
after having sprinkled it with the contents of the pan. The children decided to take a shortcut
by cutting through the land of the apartment building where the accused lives.
According to the testimony of the child’s father, the accused had motivated her action by telling him that the child had been knocking on her door non-stop for three years.
This claim was denied by the father, who claimed that his son had only been attending this school for a month and that he had never knocked on his door.
In order to calm the neighbors’ concerns and reassure the victim’s family, the SPAL explains having put the family in contact with the Crime Victim Assistance Center (CAVAC) and police investigators.
An increased police presence was also deployed in the neighborhood in addition to other measures involving school management.
The accused will appear again on October 16 in the investigation of her release.
With information from Amélie Desmarais
