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Man Sentenced to 2 Years for Racist Attack on Muslim Woman on Train
Monday 18 February 2019, by
Sean Devlin was found guilty of verbally and physically assaulting Malika Touirtou, a 63-year-old Moroccan-American woman, on a train, before shouting that she had a bomb in her bag. He allegedly beat her up. A judge has just sentenced him, among other things, to 2 years in prison.
It all started when Sean Devlin, 36, heard Malika Touirtou speaking Arabic on the phone to her brother. It was during Ramadan and she was returning from the tarawih prayer. He would then have accosted her and insulted her "why are you wearing the veil, go back to your country, why are you here?" while physically assaulting her.
Devlin even tried to create legal problems for her by claiming she had a bomb in her bag. "He started shouting that one of the women had a bomb in her bag, that she was Muslim," witness Daniel Sullivan said during the trial.
Sean Devlin was sentenced on February 16 to two years in prison, one year of probation, and 100 hours of community service.
"I’m so happy. I’m so happy it’s over," said 63-year-old victim Malika Touirtou at the end of the trial. Indeed, Sean Devlin was arrested and charged over a year ago. He already has a long criminal record, including an armed robbery.
Malika is a mother and grandmother.