Pain a 'heavy weight' for teen attacked, thrown in Winnipeg river

The Canadian Press

Trees lean over the Assiniboine River in Winnipeg on Oct. 14, 2016.

WINNIPEG — A teenager who was beaten, sexually assaulted and thrown in a Winnipeg river two years ago says she continues to carry physical and emotional scars.

The girl, who cannot be identified under a court order, wrote a one-page victim impact statement for the sentencing hearing of her attacker.

Justin Hudson pleaded guilty in December to two counts of aggravated sexual assault.

The Crown and defence are to make their sentencing submissions today.

The girl was thrown in the Assiniboine River after being stomped on and sexually assaulted, but managed to drag herself from the water — only to be beaten unconscious with a hammer and left for dead.

In her victim impact statement, the girl says she wishes she could forget the attack and the pain that ensued.

"I remember only parts of it. Dark. Cold. Pain," the statement reads.

"I am a real person. A human being. And you hurt me terribly, an injustice for which you are now paying the consequence.

A teenage boy was also charged in the attack. His case remains before the courts.

The victim, who was 16 at the time of the November 2014 attack, almost froze to death on the banks of the river. She was found the next morning by a passerby. She was taken to hospital and her heart stopped for 45 minutes. She went on to become an advocate for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.

"When I regained consciousness, my entire body was screaming with pain. More pain than I have ever known or thought possible. It was you who did that to me, through your wilful actions and decisions," her statements reads.

"I feel sad. Angry, Confused. It's more than those words can possibly convey. The pain is a heavy weight for me to carry."

Hudson is also to be sentenced for another attack later that night on a 23-year-old woman. She was also sexually assaulted and severely beaten, and spent three days in hospital with a concussion and severe facial injuries.

"I don't like to be out after dark anymore. When I am, I have to be on the phone talking with someone until I am safe at home," the women's statement reads.