16-month sentence for man who assaulted Muslim women in mall parking lot

Man sentenced after assault in parking lot The man who assaulted two Muslim women has been sentenced. David Ewasuk reports.

Richard Bradley Stevens, 43, has been sentenced to 16 months in jail and two years probation for assaulting two Muslim women in an Edmonton parking lot in 2020.

The Somali mother and her daughter told police they were sitting in their car in the Southgate Centre parking lot Dec. 8, 2020, when Stevens came up to the passenger side of their car and started yelling at them.

He shattered a car window before knocking one of the women to the ground and assaulting her.

The other woman tried to intervene, and was also pushed to the ground.

The women said Stevens swore at them and told them to go back to their country before witnesses stepped in and stopped the assault.

The case was heard in mental health court because Stevens has a history of drug-induced psychosis, but the judge found drugs and mental health were not factors in the attack.

The judge sentenced Stevens to more time than the eight to 10 months the Crown requested, saying his actions were motivated by hate, adding Stevens has a history of prejudice and had stated to others after his arrest for assault that he would do it again.

The judge also said Stevens’ actions emboldened others to target Muslim women in Edmonton in the months that followed.

“There’s no doubt that this heinous islamaphobic attack left a tremendous amount of pain on Edmonton and Alberta and especially on Black Muslim women, those who wear hijabs and other visible and vulnerable Muslims,” said Dalal Souraya of the National Council of Canadian Muslims. “Their voices and the voices of those who were attacked are reflected in today’s decision.”

The National Council of Canadian Muslims says it will launch a civil suit shortly to seek damages on behalf of the victims for the attack.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk and The Canadian Press.