Edmonton lesbian says attack changed her

An Edmonton woman who believes she was the victim of a hate crime says she still lives with the pain of the attack.

"I'll never be the same again," Shannon Barry said in the victim impact statement she read to a youth court judge Tuesday.

Barry, 32, suffered a broken jaw, crushed eye socket and facial nerve damage when a 14-year-old boy kicked her in the head on Apr. 17,  2010.

The teen, now 15, was found guilty of aggravated assault. Barry, a lesbian, believes the attack was provoked by her sexual orientation.

The Crown told the court the teen should be sentenced to six months in jail; nine months if the judge finds the attack to be a hate crime.

The teen's lawyer called his actions spontaneous and stupid, but not deliberate. She said jail won't help her client and argued instead for a six-month sentence to be served at home or in the community. The boy will be sentenced on Oct. 6.

The teen, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, yawned frequently and slouched in his chair as Barry read her victim impact statement in court.

He later laughed at a CBC videographer who turned his camera on him outside the courthouse.

"Too young, man. Too young. Can't broadcast that shit," he said.  The teen walked past Barry moments later telling her he was going to "slam some beers."

Barry said she lives with insomnia and paranoia from the attack.

"I mean it has changed me, but not the core," she said outside court. "If I saw that happening to him, even after what he's done, I would protect him, because nobody deserves that."

Barry said she won't be in court next month for the sentencing. "I need it be over."