Longueuil woman charged after 10-year-old Black boy scalded with boiling water

MONTREAL — A woman from Montreal’s South Shore appeared in court on Friday on charges of aggravated assault after allegedly scalding a 10-year-old boy with boiling water more than one week ago.

Friday morning, police in Longueuil, Que., re-arrested Stéphanie Borel, 46, who allegedly threw the water on the boy, to whom she is not related. Borel was initially arrested after the Oct. 2 incident but released with a promise to appear in court.

The decision to release her drew public outcry, with an advocacy group accusing police of being lenient toward a woman accused of assaulting a Black child. On Thursday, the Red Coalition, a Montreal-based lobby group that focuses on fighting racism, wrote a letter to Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier and police Chief Marc Leduc calling for Borel to be taken into custody.

“We ask you to consider, for a moment, if the roles had been reversed — if a Black man had thrown boiling water on a 10-year-old white girl,” wrote executive director Joel DeBellefeuille. “It is hard to imagine that he would have been allowed to go free while awaiting trial. Instead, he would likely have been detained immediately, facing serious legal consequences from the outset.”

The boy was transported to hospital to be treated for burns to his upper body.

In a statement, the police department said that after further investigation, Crown prosecutors requested that Borel be re-arrested on Friday.

Following the call for her to get involved in the case, Fournier said on social media Thursday that it’s very rare for the legal criteria to be met to justify a suspect’s detention even before an investigation has begun. “I could never, as an elected official, ask to review a police or judicial decision, much less demand somebody’s detention,” she wrote. “That would be illegal.”

Longueuil police say they have taken steps to reassure the community and the boy’s school, and that Quebec’s help centre for victims of crime has been in touch with the family.

Borel briefly appeared in court in Longueuil on Friday afternoon, and a bail hearing was set for Oct. 16. Afterward, Crown prosecutor Gabriella St-Onge told reporters she objected to Borel’s release in part to preserve public confidence in the administration of justice. “We feel it’s necessary that (her detention) be for the duration of the process,” she said.

St-Onge also pointed out that she opted for a charge of aggravated assault, which is a “more serious offence” than the charges of assault causing bodily harm and armed assault that police had originally suggested.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press