Canada's Forgiving Attitude to Ethnic Criminality is Racist

"In my view, this is a case where the need for denunciation is so pressing [that] incarceration is the only civil way in which to express society's condemnation of Mr. Jegede's conduct."

"The absence of adult mentors or role models further exacerbated Mr. Jegede's vulnerability. His parents had hoped  his football coach would provide guidance, but this need went unmet."

"Two very serious sexual assault and offences against two different victims at the same school, in similar circumstances, approximately five months apart, which is concerning, because it suggests that Mr. Jegede may be dangerous ... In other words, this is not an isolated incident involving one victim, the nature of both offences and their immediate lasting consequences make them very serious offences."

"It should be noted that but for the contents of the Impact of Race and Culture Assessment [IRCA], the pre-sentence report and all the mitigating factors surrounding Omogbolahan [Teddy] Jegede, this sentence would have been much higher."

Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Frank Hoskins 

 

"I grew up around black people in Brampton and Fort McMurray."

"Many of them were immigrants, which allowed us to relate to each other on many levels, especially culture."

"It was like that until I moved to Antigonish to attend university."

Omogbolahan Jegede, 25, rapist

Omogbolahan (Teddy) Jegede initially faced four charges, but two of those were withdrawn earlier this year. He was found guilty on the remaining two charges. (CBC)

 

The Liberal government of Canada practises a forgiving agenda on penalizing criminality of Canadians of minority backgrounds or those originally from less developed and conflicted countries of the world whose values and customs are different from those of Western democracies, primarily in the areas of human rights but also encompassing crimes of any dimension and all directions that flout Canadian criminal law. In effect, excusing criminal  behaviour on the basis of a less privileged background than that of the hosting nation. A notion and a practise that is in and of itself racist.

 

In so doing, needless to say, what government and its agencies are doing is assuring an ethnic or aboriginal criminal element that their crimes are forgivable to a degree; they will always qualify for bail, and for lesser punishment once convicted at trial of the charges that brought them into court. The kind of punishment meted out stands as an encouragement to the hyphenated-population from which they spring that if a crime is committed it will not be  taken seriously enough to really concern them, ending with a vastly attenuated penalty. 

"In March 2023, the RCMP received a complaint of sexual assault against Jegede and quickly thereafter three more.  St. Francis Xavier University has stated that it had been conducting its own investigation since March of 2023."

"It appears that this is not the first time the police or St. FX have received sexual abuse complaints about Jegede from other students at St. FX. Another complaint was made in the 2019/2020 academic year. This raises the question of what steps should St. FX have taken earlier to protect its students?"

"On April 14, 2023, University Vice-President, Elizabeth Yeo, release a statement to the St. FX university stating that in March of 2023, it had become aware of multiple complaints of sexual abuse against one perpetrator and takes these allegations seriously. In compliance with its “survivor-centered approach” it started to investigate these allegations but noted that if criminal charges are initiated St. FX’s investigation would cease. In response, Dr. Rachel Hurst, Professor and Coordinator, Women’s and Gender Studies of St. FX., asked why St. FX had expunged Jegede’s football profile from its website if it indeed was taking sexual violence on campus seriously."

Wagners Law Firm, Halifax 

What the former university football player whose immigrant family originated in Nigeria was on trial for and convicted of, was the sexual assault of two young women, one to the point of strangulation. Deemed eligible for a reduced sentence because of his ethnicity, he was handed a prison sentence of two years, as a Black man worthy of a standardized Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (right in tune with Critical Race Theory) that would have the effect of minimizing his crime and diminishing his responsibility.

 

The two women who were victims of Omogbolahan Jegede have now been victimized a second time around, given the lax attitude exhibited in relation to the physical and psychological harm they suffered at his hands. And which continue to play havoc to their emotional state of safety and security. Both were resident on campus at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia in 2022 and 2023. According to the testimony of one woman Jegede choked her to unconsciousness, the other forced to perform oral sex.

 

The assaults happened when Jegede was a student at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S. (CBC)

"On the duration of sentence we're maybe not that far apart, but the Crown is looking for actual jail sentence whereas the defence is recommending a custodial sentence, but to be served in the community as a conditional sentence order."

"So that is a pretty stark difference in some ways, yes." 

Jegede's lawyer, Adam Rodgers 

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Jegede moved with his family to Canada in 2010, first living in Brampton, Ontario, then Fort McMurray, Alberta. Jegede's mother spoke of the social difficulty of the transition for her youngest son, that he "experienced bullying in elementary school due to his accent and racial identity" as a Black child. Jegede spoke of struggling with a sense of isolation in a predominantly white university town. An experience familiar to all children of visible and even invisible racialized backgrounds.

 

According to the individual who had interviewed Jegede for the IRCA report to be turned over to the presiding judge to guide him in his sentencing decision, Jegede was under intense pressure at the time of the assaults, with no access to culturally appropriate support at a time when it was needed. Evidently his mother had  expectations that while her son was at St.Francis Xavier on their football team, the coach would extend social/cultural counselling to make him feel  comfortable in his surroundings.

 

The Jegede family has lived in Canada for 15 years, more than ample time to become fully immersed in the culture and value system of the country they immigrated to. From the time that Omogbolahan Jegede was ten years of age, to  his young adult years, he was steeped in Canadian culture which does not include rape as a relief mechanism for stress. To claim victimhood as a Black child undergoing persecution as a visible minority overlooks the fact that Jewish children in Canada face discrimination but it has never resulted in courts excusing Jews for criminal misconduct which very few appear in court to be judged for. 

 

Omogbolahan (Teddy) Jegede, a former football player at St, Francis Xavier University, was found guilty May 23 on two counts of sexual assault following a jury trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Antigonish. Photo by Nova Scotia judiciary 

"IRCAs are pre-sentencing reports that help sentencing judges to better understand the effect of poverty, marginalization, racism, and social exclusion on the offender and their life experience."

"IRCAs explain how the offender's lived experiences of racism and discrimination inform the circumstances of the offender, the offence committed, and the offender's experience with the justice system."

Justice Department 2021 news release