‘I will not allow you to have my silence:’ victim statement read in court
WINNIPEG — The Crown read out prepared victim impact statements Tuesday in Winnipeg at a sentencing hearing on behalf of a teenage girl and a woman who were sexually assaulted and beaten in November 2014. Justin Hudson pleaded guilty last year to the attacks that included beating the teen repeatedly before leaving her for dead on the banks of the Assiniboine River. Another accused is still before the courts.
Here are the unedited statements that were read out in court:
The teenager:
“I am addressing the men who are responsible for hurting me. I survived though. I am speaking to you now so that you will hear how your actions created an enormous amount of suffering for me. I will not allow you to have my silence. This is my voice. I am a real person. A human being. And you hurt me terribly, an injustice for which you are now paying the consequence.