Psych evaluation ordered for man accused of assaulting Jewish father in front of children at Montreal park

The man accused of assaulting a Jewish father in front of his children in Parc-Extension last week will undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

After a brief virtual appearance at the Montreal courthouse Wednesday, a Judge Martin Chalifour ordered Sergio Yanes Preciado, 23, to undergo a 30-day evaluation at the Philippe-Pinel Institute.

Yanes Preciado was charged Tuesday with one count of assault causing bodily harm after being arrested by Montreal police the day before.

Yanes Preciado appeared briefly Tuesday before a judge, where he was ordered to undergo an assessment by a criminologist, but on Wednesday, a full evaluation was deemed necessary in order to determine his criminal responsibility.

He will remained detained and will be due back in court on Sept. 12.

“We feel good that this person wasn’t released and he’s not going to be anywhere next to the victim’s family or next to anybody else to be able to attack people,” said Zev Feldman, the victim’s brother-in-law who was present in court Wednesday.

Police allege Yanes Preciado was in Dickie Moore park when he approached the father and sprayed him with the contents of his water bottle. The accused then pushed the father to the ground and punched him several times in the face and kneed him, police say.

The incident was captured by a witness, a Muslim woman, in a 29-second video circulating online. The attacker is seen picking up items in a grocery bag and tossing what appears to be a kippah — a traditional Jewish head covering — into a splash pad.

The video does not show what led to the incident.

Police say the father sustained injuries that were not life-threatening.

The incident was widely condemned by members of the political class, including Prime Minister Mark Carney and Quebec Premier François Legault.

The Crown has objected to Yanes Preciado’s release, and he was forbidden by Quebec court Judge Éric de Champlain Tuesday from contacting the alleged victim.

“It was difficult knowing that he’s a guy who beat up my brother-in-law and traumatized my three nieces,” said Feldman. “It wasn’t easy, but I did what I had to do.”

Feldman says he hopes the judge will send a strong message that this type of behaviour is not acceptable.

“We believe he was motivated by hate, but again, we will let investigation play itself out and we’ll follow the process,” he said.

Advocates from the Jewish community say the charges need to be more severe.

“I am calling on behalf of the Jewish community for a serious investigation of whether this is a hate crime and not to just brush it aside, said Yair Szlak, president and CEO of Federation CJA.

“The children watching their father being beat up ruthlessly and for no provoked reason is something that we’re going to have to deal with as a community,” he added.

Szlak added that politicians and police have to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again.

“We are a resilient community and we trust in our authorities to do what they need to do in order to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” he said. “And to our authorities, on the other hand, my message is you need to do more to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

For Feldman and his family, it’s about sending a message to the suspect: “Nobody should be beaten up because of their religion.”