KELOWNA – A completely innocent man attacked for no reason by a complete stranger armed with a knife and metal bar.
That was the situation in March inside the Greyhound bus station in Kelowna.
Fortunately, the victim suffered only minor injuries from three puncture wounds.
On Monday, Sebastien Joncas Rousseau pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm and two counts of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
The court heard the victim was sitting on a bench, minding his own business, and was caught completely unaware by the unprovoked attack by Rousseau who was shouting “not me man, stay away from me”.
“He’s really lucky he didn’t have his throat cut. The kid got stabbed right in the face,” said witness Jenny Henderson.
Rousseau was travelling by bus from Vancouver to his home town of Montreal.
The court heard the 31-year-old was troubled, unemployed and stressed about his financial situation.
Rousseau was also sleep deprived and travel fatigued, with prosecutor Patricia O’Neil saying: “He started imagining people were trying to hurt him. He thought Mr. McNeil was part of this conspiracy against him, and essentially, the attack against Mr. McNeil was a pre-emptive strike.”
In her reasons for sentencing, the judge noted the frightening nature of the assault, calling it an extremely serious offense, saying it’s a miracle the injuries weren’t more severe.
But she also noted Rousseau’s genuine remorse and a psychiatrist’s finding that he is a relatively low risk to reoffend.
Rousseau was handed a six month jail sentence followed by three years probation during which he can’t possess knives outside his residence.
When he gets out of jail, Rousseau says he wants to return to Montreal, study to become a monk, and spend the rest of his life in a monastery.