Man who harassed Concordia student gets two-year community sentence

Article content

A man who pleaded guilty this month to the criminal harassment of a Concordia University student received a sentence Wednesday intended to allow him to follow treatment for his mental health problems.

Article content

When Adamo Bono, 41, harassed Concordia PhD candidate Anastasia Boldireff during October 2019, he was still subject to conditions that were part of a case in which he was found not criminally responsible for his actions. On Oct. 1, 2016, he forced a woman into a wooded area and sexually assaulted her, after approaching her on a city bus as it traveled along Van Horne Ave.

Less than a year after he was declared not criminally responsible, Bono approached Boldireff at Ste-Catherine and Guy Sts., and told her he liked her clothes and her smile. She ignored him and walked away, but he followed her and asked her out of her. When Boldireff rejected Bono, he replied: “How can we make that no a yes?” She then told Bono she was not interested in him.

Article content

Less than two weeks later, Boldireff was at a café when she noticed Bono was watching her from outside. He told her he would not let her leave until she gave him her phone number from her and that he would not stop from her until she did so.

Boldireff agreed to give her Bono number on the condition that he would leave her alone, but he proceeded to text her the same day.

When Bono pleaded guilty, his lawyer Maya Amar and the Crown made a joint recommendation asking that he be allowed to serve his sentence in the community for two years. Amar emphasized that if Bono follows all of his conditions from him, he will be left with no criminal record and will therefore be allowed to continue residing at a resource center recommended by the Philippe-Pinel Institute that keeps him under surveillance while he’s being treated by a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

Article content

On Wednesday, Quebec Court Judge Flavia Longo agreed with the joint recommendation. It came with a long list of conditions, including that Bono not be within 100 meters of Boldireff or any members of her family.

“I am not satisfied, but I admit that it is reasonable,” Boldireff told the Montreal Gazette after the judge delivered her decision. “I hope that he respects his conditions. I hope that he respects the full letter of the law. I personally hope that he is fully rehabilitated in two years and that there are no more victims.

“There are systemic barriers for victims of crimes. There needs to be a system where victims of crimes — specifically victims of sexual violence taken — can report them and be treated with dignity, respect and be seriously.”

Article content

She described her experience with the justice system as “a nightmare.” At first, she said, the Montreal police did not take her complaint seriously, and now “I can’t even get an IVAC representative on the phone.” It was a reference to the Indemnisation des victimes d’actes criminels, the government organization that decides whether a victim of a crime should be compensated.

Boldireff said she has been vocal about what she went through so other victims can avoid similar experiences.

“I’m hoping to raise awareness of these specific points and then move on,” she said.

Boldireff has been told that a hearing will be held before the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal on how the Montreal police dealt with her complaint.

[email protected]