A 47-year-old woman pleaded guilty to aggravated assault at the Longueuil Courthouse after being accused of pouring scalding water on a young child. The incident occurred last October in a multi-residential building near Curé-Poirier Boulevard East and Chambly Road on the South Shore of Montreal.
The child, who was walking home with friends, passed by the woman’s residence when the incident happened. The boy, 10 years old at the time, arrived home with second-degree burns on four percent of his body, including his face and torso. Despite not needing surgery, he suffered significant injuries.
It was revealed that the woman, Stéphanie Borel, did not intentionally target the boy based on his race. The agreed statement of facts indicated that she lived near the boy’s school, and children had been playing pranks on her by ringing her doorbell and running away.
On the day of the assault, as the boy approached her door, she opened it, threw boiling water on him, and told him to leave. Following her arrest, Borel filmed the boy and his friends with her cellphone as they walked to school. She claimed that the constant pranks caused her stress, particularly due to concerns about her cats and a recent job change.
Borel justified her actions by stating that she was heating water for her bathroom pipes and did not realize the boy’s age before splashing it on him. Despite the publication ban to protect the child’s identity, the incident raised significant concern in the community.