Herbert Hildebrandt sentenced to probation, community service

 Herbert Hildebrandt has been sentenced to two years’ probation, 100 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine.

Justice M. Poland handed down the decision in a St. Thomas courtroom on Thursday.

Due to Thursday’s weather conditions, the court agreed to hold the sentencing hearing through zoom.

In Aug. 2022, Hildebrandt was found guilty of assaulting an 84-year-old man in Malahide Township.

The incident happened near the Church of God in Aylmer on Dec. 10, 2022.

During his victim impact statement, Jack Dykxhoorn said that he still remembers the day he was assaulted saying, “it keeps me up at night.” Since the incident, Dykxhoorn said he has added security to his property out of fear for his and his family’s safety.

“The injuries sustained are still lingering and have caused me great pain and sleepless nights,” he said. At the time of the assault he was recovering from a broken shoulder, the judge explained, and suffered from a bruised or fractured rib after being assaulted by Hildebrandt.

In Dec 2020, Dykxhoorn and his friends placed a “Be Kind Wear a Mask” sign near the Church Of God where Hildebrandt attends.

Dykxhoorn and his friends Jack Brower, Walter Morgan, and David Peters disagreed with the church’s stance on masking at the time.

But the Crown said Hildebrandt chose to confront the victim and his friends and pushed the senior to the ground and as a result suffered a bruised rib.

As heard in court, Hildebrandt said the entire Church of God community was “on edge” due to recent trespassing and vandalism at the church surrounding the time of the alleged assault during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the Crown said Hildebrandt chose to confront the victim and his friends and pushed the senior to the ground and as a result suffered a bruised rib.

Before sentencing, Hildebrandt read a letter to the court apologizing to Dykxhoorn and the court saying that he wish he could’ve done things differently. “It holds a deep stain on my reputation and community,” Hildebrandt said.

Back in August, Justice Poland concluded that Hildebrandt was never bumped by the victim [as Hildebrandt had testified] and he posted no physical threat to the much larger and younger man.

Defence attorney Lakin Afolabi told the court that after Hildebrandt’s conviction, he provided proof of counselling and completed an online anger management course.

Afolabi also pointed to the pandemic as a reason for people to act “uncharacteristically” at the time and asked the judge to consider that in his sentencing.

In his decision, Justice Poland said his sentencing decision would reflect that Hildebrandt didn't have a criminal record before the assault.

“Evidence made it clear that the victim and his friends had taken positions respecting public health measures that were not consistent with views of many in the Aylmer community,” the judge said.

“The reality is these older men posed zero risk to anyone on the day in question.”

Hildbrandt's 100 hours of community service cannot be completed at the Church of God. They were designed to be above and beyond his usual service at the church. 

— With files from CTV News London's Brent Lale