Man who attacked Edmonton mom in front of her kids has sentence reduced by 5 years
Warning: This story contains details of a violent attack and a reference to suicide.
A man who slammed an Edmonton mother to the ground and strangled her outside of a downtown daycare in 2021 has had his nine-year prison sentence reduced to four years.
Alberta's court of appeal issued a written decision Tuesday in the case of Rockie Rabbit, 32, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and overcoming resistance by choking.
Rabbit was on methamphetamine when he "committed a brutal and unprovoked attack on a stranger," the appeal ruling states.
The victim was a 39-year-old woman who was picking up her children from daycare.
The six- and eight-year-old kids “cried hysterically” while they watched the attack through a glass door. When police arrived, they found Rabbit on top of the mother, still strangling her.
Crown prosecutors initially sought a six-year prison sentence but Rabbit’s lawyer wanted him to serve three years. Judge Carrie Sharpe decided on nine years for each count, to run concurrently.
"Understandably, the sentencing judge was moved by the gravity of the offence and its effect on the victim and her family," said the appeal decision signed by Justice's Jolaine Antonio and Bernette Ho.
"However, she lost sight of the proportionality principle and fell into error by seemingly viewing recognition of any mitigating factor as an undermining of the gravity of the offence."
The victim sustained "little lasting physical injury" but the appeal judges acknowledged it put her "life at risk" and caused lifelong "psychological effects" on her and her family.
Still, they decided a lesser sentence was appropriate based on similar cases, Rabbit's guilty plea and Indigenous "Gladue factors" including poverty, abuse and drug use.
Rabbit asked the victim “did you kill my daughter?” before he attacked her and was hallucinating at the time, the appeal judges noted.
Some of his family members had recently died including by suicide, a heroin overdose and a murder, the appeal decision states.
"His use of drugs at this time, while unlawful and dangerous, is to some degree explained by his past environment and recent events in his life," the judges wrote.
"He did have a history of prior drug use and was described as 'angry and violent' when using, but he had never before experienced hallucinations similar to those that precipitated the subject attack. These factors diminish his moral blameworthiness."
Rabbit was given credit for the 379 days he spent in jail prior to being sentenced.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.