A 47-year-old woman pleaded guilty to aggravated assault at the Longueuil courthouse after being accused of pouring scalding water on a young child. The incident occurred last October in a multi-residential building on the South Shore of Montreal.
The child, who was walking home with friends, passed by the woman’s residence on their way back from school. Upon returning home, the boy informed his father that someone had thrown boiling water on him, causing burns. To protect the child’s identity, a publication ban was imposed since he was 10 years old at the time.
It was found that the woman, Stéphanie Borel, did not target the boy based on his race, as they were not acquainted. Children from the boy’s school had been playing a “ring-and-run” game, repeatedly ringing Borel’s doorbell. On the day of the incident, as the boy approached the door, Borel unexpectedly opened it, splashing boiling water on him and telling him to leave.
The boy sustained second-degree burns on four percent of his body, including his face and torso, but did not require surgery. Borel was initially arrested on October 2. Despite her release, she filmed the boy and his friends on her cellphone as they walked to school, later reporting harassment by her neighbors.
Following another arrest, Borel explained that the “ring-and-run” pranks and job-related stress had upset her and led to the incident. She claimed she did not realize the boy was a child when she threw the water, intending to use it for her bathroom pipes.
