Ex-city lawyer faces sentencing Jan. 7 for vandalizing Holocaust monument

A former City of Ottawa lawyer who pleaded guilty to vandalizing the National Holocaust Monument earlier this year will be handed a sentence in January.

Crown and defence lawyers agreed to reconvene Jan. 7 to receive Superior Court Justice Anne London-Weinstein’s decision after an assignment court hearing Friday.

Defence lawyer Michael Spratt said Iain Aspenlieder remains in custody after he requested to go back to the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre at a hearing Monday.

Aspenlieder made the unusual request because he said his onerous bail conditions had caused undue hardship on his family. He had been granted bail pending sentencing after pleading guilty on July 25.

Spratt told the court that this was the first time a client of his had made such a request, but said the decision was made after an in-depth discussion with Aspenlieder.

Aspenlieder was arrested on June 27 and charged with mischief to a war monument, mischief exceeding $5,000 and harassment by threatening conduct.

The charges came after he defaced the National Holocaust Monument located on 1918 Chaudière Crossing with the words “FEED ME” in red paint in the early hours of June 9.

Crown attorney Moiz Karimjee proposed a two-year sentence with credit for time served, followed by three years of probation.

He told the court on Monday that Aspenlieder’s actions harmed the Jewish community in Ottawa and Canada by blaming them for the Israel-Palestinian conflict, to the point where many feared for their safety and the safety of their loved ones in Ottawa and across the country.

“There are daily lawful protests in Ottawa and across Ontario with respect to Israel, and no one is prevented from criticizing Israel lawfully. … This offence harmed the Jewish community and all Canadians because of a foreign conflict,” Karimjee told the court Monday.

Spratt agreed that Aspenlieder should be punished and given a criminal record, given the gravity of the offence, but disagreed that the Crown was able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Aspenlieder had hate-motivated intentions.

“That sort of sentence reflects that he’s guilty, that jail is appropriate, that he should get a criminal record and there should be serious consequences,” Spratt told the court Monday.

“There is no denying that the effects were completely inappropriate. Even if the court doesn’t find that Mr. Aspenlieder was motivated by hate or bias or prejudice, the effect that it has on members of the community is not diluted or diminished.”

Several victim impact statements, including statements from those involved with the National Holocaust Monument committee, outlined the widespread fear and pain they felt after the memorial was vandalized.

Aspenlieder told the court that he didn’t intend to cause fear and harm to the Jewish community when he vandalized the monument.

He said he was trying to link the Jewish Holocaust and the humanitarian crisis caused by the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and the decision to vandalize the Holocaust memorial was made intentionally to send a message against the Israeli government.

However, he said he acknowledged that he broke the law and accepted his punishment.

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