'Vicious, random, and unprovoked': 9-year sentence for attack on mother outside Edmonton daycare
The man who slammed an Edmonton mother to the ground and strangled her for more than four minutes as her children looked on last July has been sentenced to nine years in prison by an Alberta Provincial Court judge.
Rockie Rabbit, 31, pleaded guilty in December of 2021 to aggravated assault and overcoming resistance by choking.
The pleas followed a violent, methamphetamine-fuelled attack on a 39-year-old woman who was picking up her children from a downtown daycare and was recorded by a security camera.
“The CCTV footage displays frighteningly uncontrolled and brutally vicious assaultive behaviour,” said Judge Carrie Sharpe in sentencing Rabbit to nine years on each count.
“This is yet another horrific example of the scourge on the community caused by methamphetamine.”
The sentences are to be served concurrently, and with 1 1/2 credit for time already spent in custody, Rabbit has just under eight years left to serve.
Sharpe noted the “vicious, random, and unprovoked” nature of the attack and how the CCTV video showed Rabbit strangling her for nearly 4 1/2 minutes.
She also cited the psychological damage witnessing the attack imposed on the two children.
“Young, innocent children should never be put in a position where they are fearful for their safety and the safety of their families,” reads Sharpe’s ruling.
“The senseless violence perpetrated by Rockie Rabbit did just that.”
The sentences outweigh the six-year term sought by Crown prosecutors and three years incarceration sought by Rabbit’s lawyer.
“This is a case much closer to near murder than to near accident,” Sharpe ruled.
In a victim impact statement, the woman says she is terrified to leave her home, does not sleep well and how her children refer to the incident repeatedly.
Rabbit prepared a letter of apology acknowledging how close he came to killing her and indicating that he feels regret, guilt and embarrassment at his actions.
'VERY NEARLY CAUSED HER DEATH'
An agreed statement of facts from Rabbit’s December hearing describes how the woman was walking along 111 Street near 105 Avenue to collect her three children from Seven Stones Daycare.
Rabbit tried to pull off a grey backpack she was wearing, asking her, “did you kill my daughter?” and demanded to know where the girl was.
Reading from the statement, Crown prosecutor Mark Fernandes recounted how she tried to pull away from him, but he slammed her to the ground with both hands before mounting her and alternating between strangling her and punching her in the chest and stomach.
Two of her children, aged six and eight years old, “cried hysterically” as they saw the attack through the glass daycare door, according to the statement.
Court heard how when police arrived they found Rabbit on top of the mother, still strangling her. He was arrested and later admitted to police that he had consumed methamphetamine before the attack.
The attack left the woman unconscious with a tennis-ball sized hematoma on her head and shallow breathing. Her face had also turned blue and she was foaming at the mouth.
Her husband ran to the scene from their family’s home about a block away and was “distraught,” according to court documents.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.