Ethiopian immigrant repeat offender gets 227 days in jail after assaulting Vancouver, BC teenage girl with feces

33-year old Fitsum Wode Zewdu has pleaded guilty to sexual assault, assault, and committing an indecent act. Judge Reginald Harris said he factored in the “love and support of his parents” and a letter from his father during sentencing. However, the judge also said that “the vile nature of the unprovoked assault committed against a young woman who was a stranger to Mr. Zewdu warrants a sentence that strongly denounces and deters.”

Zewdu was sentenced to 695 days, but after time served in pre-trial custody, he will only serve 227 more days.

According to court documents, the incident took place in June of 2025 when a 17-year-old, unknown to Zewdu, was walking near a SkyTrain station. He was out of jail on a conditional sentence order at the time, according to the National Post.

“He then smeared fecal matter over her face and mouth while pushing and jamming feces into her face and mouth,” court records said. “Mr. Zewdu was laughing as he held out his phone causing the victim to believe that Mr. Zewdu was recording the assault. A subsequent search of his phone showed that this was not the case.”

The victim screamed and ran to a nearby residence to contact law enforcement. When the police arrived, they found Zewdu approaching a second woman with a stroller, asking her to smell his hands that were covered in feces.

This is not his only crime. In 2024, Zewdu exited a SkyTrain station and slapped a woman on her buttocks. In July of 2025, Zewdu was asked to leave a strip club. While outside, he threatened to kill and beat a woman, and his penis was exposed the entire time. He was arrested after a brief chase by police.

Zewdu’s criminal record goes back to 2019, accoridng to the judge. He has been convicted of being found naked and masturbating while at a library computer, spitting on a woman’s face, and dropping a cigarette down a woman’s top while he whispered to her about her licking his feet.

“A review of the record discloses two convictions for failing to comply with court orders and a termination of a conditional sentence order,” the judge wrote. “There is one conviction for sexual assault, two convictions for committing an indecent act, and two mischief convictions.”

Zewdu is an immigrant from Ethiopia who moved to Canada when he was three.