The two men accused of viciously beating and robbing Chris Rabideau in his apartment lobby in Windsor last year were found guilty on June 17.
A jury convicted Stephen Lambert and Michael Allard of robbery and assault related to the incident on May 21, 2010. The Crown did not lay hate charges, but Rabideau told The Windsor Star that he hopes the judge will consider the homophobic slurs the pair levelled at him during the beating when they’re sentenced on June 28.
Just days before the assault, Rabideau had directed a play condemning hate as part of the International Day Against Homophobia.The men knocked him unconscious as he was walking home on Ouellette Ave around 1:40am. They took his wallet and attempted to take him to an ATM, where he was told to withdraw $500. As they passed his apartment building on Ouellette, he tried to escape but got stuck in the lobby, where they kicked, punched and choked him. Rabideau says the pair called him “faggot” and “homo” as they attacked him.
Rabideau was left with two black eyes, a fractured nose and bruising and swelling on his face. The attack in Rabideau’s lobby was caught on security camera, making the case easier to stick.
“This is what victory looks like,” Rabideau told The Windstor Star outside the courthouse. “I’m so happy, not just for myself but for our city, that we can all stand tall together and that justice will be served.”
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