'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
Hackers release corporate data stolen from London Drugs
Retailer London Drugs says cybercriminals who stole files from its corporate head office last month have released some of the data after it refused to pay a ransom.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Approximately 50 Montreal-area students — the vast majority of them female — were suspended Wednesday after their school deemed the shorts they were wearing were too short. On Thursday, several students staged a walk-out to protest what they believe is a "sexist" dress code that unfairly targets girls.
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
'I won't stop,' Celine Dion says in trailer for upcoming doc about her health woes
Celine Dion's fans are getting a first glimpse of the superstar's struggle with a rare neurological disorder in an emotional trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career and life.
Tim Meadows pledges not to shave until the Oilers win the cup, who are the team's other famous fans?
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
American Airlines retreats after blaming a 9-year-old for not seeing a hidden camera in a lavatory
American Airlines has distanced itself from a court filing in which the carrier said a nine-year-old girl should have noticed there was a camera taped to the seat of an airplane lavatory.
Luxury beauty brand Clarins to pull out of Hudson's Bay stores in Canada
French luxury makeup and skincare brand Clarins is pulling out of Hudson's Bay stores in Canada.
'It's over': Minister says B.C.'s decision on Surrey police transition upheld in court
The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled in the provincial government's favour on the City of Surrey's legal challenge to its ongoing transition to a municipal police force, according to B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.