Supporters surprised by police response to Longueuil woman accused of burning a black child

Anti-racism advocates want to know why a Longueuil woman accused of pouring boiling water on a 10-year-old black boy earlier this month was released after her first arrest and was released on bail again this week.

Stéphanie Borel is charged with aggravated assault for allegedly pouring boiling water on a child who was passing by her home. As a result of the attack that took place on October 2, the boy suffered serious burns to his head, face, torso and back.

The suspect was detained and later released the same day after promising to appear and subject to certain conditions, including no contact with the child or his family.

She was arrested again on October 11 after “new investigative elements were obtained,” according to a press release sent by Longueuil police.

But on Thursday, Borel was released again – this time on certain conditions that include living with her son and staying away from the young victim’s home and school, as well as from a witness. The identity of the boy and the witness is protected by a publication ban.

Borel will return to court on January 23, 2025.

WATCH | The boy’s family reacts to the judge’s decision after the bail hearing:

A judge has granted bail to a Quebec woman accused of pouring boiling water on a 10-year-old boy

Stéphanie Borel said she was harassed for months by people who rang her doorbell and then left. On October 31, a judge in Quebec decided to release her, finding that she did not pose a threat to public safety. The boy’s family was in the courtroom and expressed disappointment with the decision.

Joel DeBellefeuille, executive director of the Red Coalition, an anti-racism organization, said the decisions to fire Borel on Oct. 2 and then again this week send a “strong, negative” message to Black Quebecers.

“The community has been told that your rights are not equal to others,” he said.

“If the roles were reversed and it was a Black man who threw boiling water on a 10-year-old white girl, we would essentially be dealing with a modern-day lynching of this Black man.”

DeBellefeuille said her firing in both cases harms his group’s efforts to improve relations between the province’s police and racialized populations.

“It’s a real slap in the face,” he said. “It undoes everything, many years of work. This will make our job more difficult.”

A boy wrapped in bandages — A child suffered extensive burns to her face, head and body after being doused with boiling water while walking home from school. (Complex)

On October 10, DeBellefeuille sent a letter to Police Chief Marc Leduc and Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier to express his group’s disappointment with the police response.

He believes it was the letter and public outcry that led to the suspect’s second arrest.

In a statement to CBC News, Longueuil police said they “review all cases impartially, based on information available at the time of intervention.”

“The items in question, which were brought to the attention of our patrol officers at the time, met the criteria for dismissal,” the statement reads.

While DeBellefeuille saw “some form of relief” in Borel’s re-arrest, he says the victim will never be the same.

“She will see every scar he has… and take him back to that fateful day,” he said.

Renzel Dashington, a comedian, producer and activist with a wide following on social media, addressed the boy’s case in several live videos and posts. In mid-October, he also took part in a march for the boy and his family.

Dashington says the people he has spoken to are horrified by what happened to the victim.

“We all live in a world where we thought that children, all children, were protected. This was an example that this is not entirely true,” he said.

Dashington condemned the police’s decision to release Borel on the same day she was arrested.

“For some reason, the police officers were sympathetic to this woman,” he said. “I just know that as a person of color who has young children in my life, I’m afraid of a lot of things. But now I’m also afraid of what will happen if something happens.”

Why do the police release suspects?

Immigration and criminal defense lawyer Marine Cournier at Hasa Avocats has worked with clients involved in cases where she believed there was evidence that they had experienced racial double standards from the police.

“Freedom should always be the principle and the right path, unless there is reason to believe that a person poses a security risk,” Cournier said, adding that she could not say whether the way Longueuil police handled the case , double standards were applied. .

In 2021, Borel was charged with assault in a separate case and was acquitted after agreeing to sign a peace bond. Cournier explained that police can use this type of information when arresting a person, but it cannot be used in court against a suspect if he or she has been acquitted.

Cournier explained that from any information the police have, they can conclude that a person poses a threat.

Cournier said that when police make an arrest, they “simply have to have reasonable grounds to believe that she may pose a danger to this or that victim and that she may continue to do so.”

DeBellefeuille claims Borel is a “danger to society.”

WATCH | Mother and son say after the burn:

‘This will teach you’: Boy says woman threw boiling water on him as he walked home from school

A publication ban was issued in this case. As a result, CBC blurred the faces of the boy and his mother and withheld their names.

“I can’t even imagine the excruciating pain (the boy) felt as he was tormented by this woman. So that in itself must be taken into account in the decision-making by investigators and the Crown,” he said.

Dashington wants greater police accountability for incidents of anti-Black racism and believes Borel would not have been arrested again on October 11 if it weren’t for “people’s outrage.”

“I can’t wait to live in a world where something like this happens and the first thing out of the mouths of the people responsible is, ‘I can’t believe this happened to these parents. We apologize for our part in this situation and this is what we must do. we do to change what happened. And let’s make sure for all other parents that if it happens again, it won’t happen again because we fixed it,” he said.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians – from anti-racism to success stories in the Black community – check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project that Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.