A woman who punched another woman in the face for no apparent reason told court that she felt that she was “being picked on.”
Karen Plante was sentenced to 90 days in jail in St. Albert court on Monday for assaulting a woman in the parking lot of a St. Albert McDonald’s. She appeared via closed-circuit television from the Edmonton Remand Centre.
Court heard that Plante had approached the woman on July 3 to ask for a cigarette. The woman said “No, I don’t, sorry,” after which Plante hit her in the right cheek and called her a derogatory name. The women did not know each other.
On Monday, court heard a victim statement from the other woman. In the letter, she describes that she has been worried about saying no to other people since Plante attacked her.
She has been rude and distant to her family, afraid to take her dog out for a walk and has suffered from pain in her jaw and head, affecting her ability to work. She also said she does not understand why Plante would do this to a stranger.
“It makes me angry,” the woman wrote. “I now keep trying to be safe.”
Court then heard that Plante has served several jail sentences including assault charges in the past and suffers from alcohol and drug addiction. The 35-year-old has been homeless for 15 years and self-diagnosed with social anxiety, her lawyer said. She also has two children whom she doesn’t see.
During her court appearance, Plante was seen at times crying, at other times talking to herself, shaking her head or glaring at the courtroom. She later told Judge Darlene Wong that she does not always know how to act around people when she thinks they judge her. Before she punched the other woman in the face, the woman had seen her sitting outside the restaurant and allegedly said she “should not sit there.”
She felt she was being picked on but she usually just wants to mind her own business, she said. She then told Wong that she now wants to look after her family and find a job.
“I really need a job,” she says. “I’ve been in jail long enough.”
Wong said punching the other lady in the cheek “was not a good way” of dealing with her problems. She sentenced Plante to 90 days in jail and a $100 fine. Since Plante has already been at the Edmonton Remand Centre for some time, she now has only 21 days left to serve.
