Former Liberal MP Marwan Tabbara pleads guilty to attack on girlfriend, gets no jailtime
Former Liberal MP Marwan Tabbara pleaded guilty, Thursday, to assault and being unlawfully in a home.
Tabbara’s two victims were his former girlfriend, who he had been in a relationship with since 2006 and who he had been living with, and a man she was dating after her breakup with Tabbara in August 2019, court heard.
“The surreal event of the night of April 9, 2020, opened my eyes on what some humans are capable of,” said the impact statement of the male victim, read in court.
“Like everyone else, I’ve heard disturbing stories about deranged human behaviour but being the victim of one changes my sense of safety forever."
“How can I feel safe after having the feeling of warmth, love and refuge that I felt inside my home abruptly replaced by fearing for my life. The fear of being attacked by surprise again like it happened that unbelievable night haunted me all the time.”
He said he started sleeping with a rolling pin beside him to defend himself if Tabbara returned.
“I have been told not to talk about this story so my aggressor could be protected while I did not feel protected at all. I felt alone and quite vulnerable,” the victim said.
The female victim did not issue an impact statement.
Tabbara had repeatedly knocked on the front door of the male victim's home and asked to speak with his former girlfriend. She went outside with him and had a “heated discussion” over Tabbara’s desire to reconcile.
On April 9, 2020, Tabbara waited outside the man's home, banging at the door late in the night. He entered into the home, approaching the man to argue with him. The men got into a fight, leaving the victmi injured. Tabarra grabbed his ex-girlfriend “against her will and forced her out of the residence to the street,” court was told. The fight between the men spilled outside, ending when Tabbara went inside the house and both victims called 911.
For his guilty plea, Tabbara stated the following:
“I’ve always worked hard all my life and want to serve my community because it gave me so much, immigrating here as a first generation,” Tabbara said when asked by Justice Michael Wendl if he had anything to say.
He did not apologize. “I know that in 2020 there was a pandemic and it had a lot of stressors on people and my actions in 2020 were denounceable and completely out of character,” Tabbara said.
Wendl ordered Tabbara to complete 120 hours of community service, give a sample of his DNA to police, and report to police once each month for three years.
