Man who assaulted Hasidic Jewish father found not criminally responsible

This story was originally published on The Montreal Gazette

A 24-year-old man who assaulted a Hasidic Jewish father in front of his three young children at a Montreal park has been found not criminally responsible.

The ruling, made by a Quebec Court judge Monday, comes after a psychiatric assessment found that Sergio Yanes Preciado was suffering from a mental disorder, likely schizophrenia, at the time of the attack and was incapable of understanding that his actions were wrong.

Preciado had been charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm after the Aug. 8 attack in the Parc-Extension neighbourhood, which was captured on video by a witness. The victim, 32, was walking in Dickie-Moore Park with his three young children when Preciado sprayed water at him, according to the psychiatric assessment.

The father then advanced toward Preciado, seeking an explanation. Preciado is then alleged to have pushed his victim and struck him in the face until he fell to the ground. Preciado then struck the victim in the neck and head with his fists, knees and feet, the report says.

Preciado, who said nothing during the attack, then took the man’s kippah, which had fallen on the ground, and threw it into a splash pad, according to police reports and images referenced in the psychiatric report. The assault drew widespread condemnation from Jewish groups and politicians, but the psychiatric assessment finds that while police considered antisemitic hatred to be a possible motive for the attack, that appears to be “improbable.”

Drs. Samuel Lavergne and Mathieu Dufour of the Philippe-Pinel Institute, a Montreal psychiatric hospital that specializes in criminal justice cases, wrote that Preciado had never shown any animosity toward the Jewish community and that he would have likely acted the same way toward someone of another religion.

According to the report, Preciado’s mental health worsened last winter. He began withdrawing from his friends, stopped attending a CEGEP program he had recently started and rarely left home. Preciado, who lived with his mother, stopped working in April. His parents became concerned for his mental health, according to the report.

In June, his mother called police hoping they would take him to a hospital. Police refused, saying Preciado, who had no criminal history, didn’t appear to be a danger to himself or others. The report found that Preciado has “delusional ideas” about “energy exchanges” between people and about being persecuted by others, “alleging that people are either trying to throw bad energy at him or absorb his energy.”

The report suggests these thoughts played a role in the attack. According to the report, Preciado thought the victim was trying to participate in an energy exchange. He claimed he threw water at the victim in a playful way and that when the man approached him, he was afraid for his safety and believed he was defending himself.

Preciado claimed he threw the kippah because he believed his victim would gather it before chasing after him. Preciado “remembers that he didn’t have negative thoughts toward his alleged victim and that he did not target him specifically because of his religion,” the report reads.

“Nevertheless, he says people of the Jewish faith are more spiritual and capable of such energy exchanges.” Preciado remains detained at the Montreal General Hospital, said Patricia Johnson, a spokesperson for Quebec’s prosecution service. He will now be followed by Quebec’s Commission d’examen des troubles mentaux, which will regularly evaluate whether he poses a risk to the community and decide whether he will remain detained in a hospital or be released with conditions.

This story was originally published on The Montreal Gazette

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