Man charged after women punched as classes let out
Nov 08, 2008 - 04:30 AM
By Stefanie Swinson
OSHAWA -- Anji Dimitriou has a black eye days after she was attacked in front her children’s school. She says her vision is still blurry and the shock is still sinking in.
Ms. Dimitriou, 30, and her lesbian partner Jane Currie, 37, said Friday they still can’t believe what happened.
“He clocked me right in the face, like right in the side of my face, and I hit my truck and I couldn’t see anything, like I blacked out,” Ms. Dimitriou said.
“I was awake but I could hear everything but I just couldn’t see anything. Then I think he clocked me again right in the top of my head.”
Classes had just let out Monday at Gordon B. Attersley elementary school on Attersley Drive, according to the couple.
Ms. Dimitriou said she was helping her son put his backpack into the car when another student’s father came toward her and began yelling.
He referred to her and Ms. Currie as men, she said, as she recounted what happened.
Ms. Dimitriou said the man swore at her, called her a slang word for lesbian in an aggressive and derogatory way, then “out of nowhere” spit in her face and punched her.
Ms. Currie saw what was happening and rushed over.
“I had said to him, ‘you a--hole what are you doing? You just beat a woman’ (then) bang I got it” she said.
The punch split Ms. Currie’s cheek and her bloody face can be seen in a photo taken by a witness as she and Ms. Dimitriou waited for an ambulance. It took four stitches to close the wound, Ms. Currie said.
According to the couple, it was clear they were attacked because they’re lesbians.
Alacea Brown, an eyewitness whose children also attend the school, said the attack was unprovoked.
“I could not believe that someone would do this right in the middle of a whole bunch of children in school," Ms. Brown said.
She intervened along with another parent despite the shock of seeing what happened.
“There was children everywhere," said Ms. Brown, noting a pregnant bus driver nearby was terrified. They didn't know who might be attacked next, she said.
The saddest part for the couple, still recovering from their own injuries, is the lasting impact it might have on their 6-year-old son and the other children who were just a few feet away.
“Kids were screaming. Little kids. It happened right where kids go to get on the school bus. They were so afraid,” Ms. Currie said as she began to cry.
“You try and explain that to your kids,” said Ms. Currie. “They’re petrified. So scared they can’t sleep at night.”
Durham Regional Police Sgt. Paul McCurbin said Mark Scott, 43, of Oshawa faces two charges of assault causing bodily harm in connection with the incident.
Mr. Scott will make his first court appearance on December 16.
School officials said a “no trespass” order has also been issued by the school.
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