A woman who disfigured a stranger by repeatedly biting her face during a brutal eight-minute attack has been spared prison after Quebec’s top court cited the consequences incarceration could have on her immigration status and four children.
Specifically, the Quebec Court of Appeal replaced Macdala Monfiston’s four-year penitentiary sentence with a conditional sentence of two years less a day, subject to strict conditions.
The sentencing comes after Monfiston attacked a woman outside Le Secret bar in Laval on December 27, 2022.
Court records describe an assault lasting roughly eight minutes in which Monfiston repeatedly struck the victim and bit her forehead and arm.
One facial wound was several centimetres long, required repeated treatment and left the victim with a prominent scar.
“When I tell people I was [bitten], they ask me what kind of animal, if it was a pit bull. They can’t believe it’s a person who did this to me,” the victim told Le Journal.
Monfiston pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was initially sentenced to four years in a federal penitentiary.
But the Quebec Court of Appeal concluded the sentencing judge had not given sufficient weight to the consequences imprisonment would have on Monfiston’s immigration status and dependent children.
Monfiston, a U.S.-born permanent resident who came to Canada at age two, could have lost her right to appeal a potential deportation order on humanitarian grounds if imprisoned.
“The prison sentence has a much greater impact on the defendant than on other offenders who might have committed similar acts,” the court said.
The judges also cited her four children, guilty plea, remorse and rehabilitation efforts.
“In the particular circumstances of this case, there is no doubt that the consequences carry considerable gravity for the circumstances of the defendant, who is a permanent resident who has custody of four children,” the court said.
The ruling does not prevent Monfiston’s removal but preserves her right to appeal a potential deportation order.
Under R. v. Pham, judges may consider immigration consequences when sentencing, provided the punishment remains proportionate.
Federal law can bar permanent residents convicted of serious criminality from appealing a removal order if sentenced to at least six months in prison.
Monfiston will instead serve a conditional sentence of two years less a day.
The victim criticized the result.
“I am very angry... she will have no consequences for disfiguring me,” she told Le Journal.
The victim continues to suffer anxiety following the attack and told the newspaper she fears leaving her home.
“There will have to be other victims before justice wakes up,” she said.
Quebec Crown prosecutor Simon Blais is reportedly considering taking the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Haitian animals.