After two years of facing harassment, a Korean family in Ottawa Canada learned their neighbors would be facing a hate-motivated vandalism charge, the Ottawa Police announced.
Jaime Darlene Quigley, 46, and Mathew Galipeau, 36, were charged with mischief/damage to property in connection to threatening and harassing actions made against their next door neighbor.
The charges came after prosecutors say Quigley and Galipeau were caught on video throwing eggs at the house of a family of Korean descent next door in Barrhaven, Ottawa.
Police allege Galipeau could be heard saying he “f-cking hates Asians,” and that they “can’t talk English” before speaking in gibberish seemingly intended to mock Asian languages, as Quigley joined in.
The resident of the egged house told CBC that their neighbors have engaged in similar behavior for two years, which was corroborated by other residents in the neighborhood. The neighboring house has also been the focus of more than 90 noise complaints for loud music since January 2023, CBC reported.
Despite previously reaching out to authorities for assistance, she said her family has not received sustainable support, according to CBC.
“The situation has severely affected our new home, disrupted our daily lives, and deprived us of sleep, health, and happiness,” she said in a statement.
Galipeau, however, told CBC that their family was victimized for being in the minority of White families in the area. After setting up a meeting to discuss his side of the situation with CBC, he allegedly canceled on short notice, claiming that he would be “retaining a lawyer and going through proper channels to defend (himself) and (his) family.”
While charges were filed, some users on social media are not pleased with the outcome.
“It’s staggering that such a consistent pattern of racist, abusive, and antisocial behavior seemed to fail to get OPS to act without public pressure,” Reddit user HeathenForAllSeasons commented in a thread announcing the charges.
User faintrottingbreeze asked in the same thread whether a hate crime charge could not be made as well, with another user responding with the corresponding legal requirements for such a charge, which this incident does not satisfy.
On the whole, Ottawa has seen a rise in hate crime reports, with numbers steadily climbing from 181 incidents in 2020 to 460 in 2023, according to CTV News.
Quigley and Galipeau are set to appear in court on July 24, CBC wrote.
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