- Pascal Engman "The world says to the incel: you are not good at reproducing"
A Canadian court on Tuesday sentenced to life in prison a teenager who in 2020 murdered a woman in the city of Toronto inspired by the ideology known as incel.
The young man, who cannot be identified because he was 17 years old when he committed the murder and whose initials, J.C., are only known, will not be able to apply for parole for another 10 years.
Last year, J.C., now 20, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Although the individual was a minor when he murdered Ashley Noelle Arzaga, 24, a massage parlor employee, with a sword, Judge Sukhail Akhtar decided to sentence him as an adult for the "horrific crime" he committed.
Akhtar had previously decided that the deadly attack was an act of terrorism because it was inspired by incel ideology, so named because its followers identify themselves as "involuntary celibates" or "involuntary celibates," men who hold women responsible for their lives without sex.
It is the first time a judge in Canada has considered an incel attack a terrorist act.
The teen spent a great deal of time on the internet soaking up incel ideology, which is characterized by misogyny and violence against women, according to the judge.
The judge also rejected that J.C. had been "brainwashed," as his lawyers argued, saying that the young man actively searched the Internet for incel channels and "accepted" their ideology.
Canada has been the scene of several incel attacks in recent years. The most serious was committed in 2018 by Alek Minassian, which killed 10 people and injured 16 others.
Minassian, who drove a van into dozens of bystanders on a busy Toronto street, was sentenced in 2022 to life in prison without parole for 25 years.
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