Simcoe, Ontario – The Canadian Independent sat down once again with Wendy Washik, a 58-year-old mother facing an assault charge stemming from a Labour Day weekend gathering on September 1, 2024, which has since gone viral. We wanted to hear Washik's reaction to her neighbour's recent interview with the CBC.
Washik allegedly accidentally sprayed her neighbour, Sheehan Rochester, during a playful neighbourhood water gun fight while he was mowing his lawn, leading to the charge. Washik was initially charged with assault with a weapon, but the charge has since been reduced to assault.
Rochester, a man of colour, gave his first-ever interview with CBC, claiming the incident was racially motivated and suggested malicious intent behind Washik's actions.
CBC presents several unsubstantiated claims in their video, which appears to aim at deceiving viewers, sowing division, and supporting Rochester's accusations of racism without any evidence.
CBC's video report opens with the assertion that Wendy's "harmless accident looks more planned," according to surveillance footage; however, CBC and Rochester do not provide any evidence to substantiate or indicate premeditation.
Additionally, CBC claims Washik “appears to ask a child for a water gun,” a statement that cannot be heard in the surveillance video.
The CBC video also claims that the "aftermath" of the water gun spraying incident can be "heard off-camera," but it offers no supporting evidence. In this portion of CBC's video, there is a four-second pause that seems to suggest evidence is being presented; however, nothing is actually provided.
Rochester claims this is about racism, feels targeted, and has had to call the police 14 times. When we spoke with Wendy, we asked her if any of the calls to the police were related to racism. She told us they were about balls being thrown into Rochester’s yard by children and dogs going to the bathroom on his property.
Wendy informed us that CBC spoke with her on the same day they interviewed Rochester. According to Washik, CBC asked her about the racism allegations, and she gave them a response on camera, but CBC never included her response in the video or the article.
Washik firmly states that she is not racist and that nobody in her neighbourhood is racist. She says she works with multicultural children regularly, and the priests at her church, which she attends frequently, are people of colour.
In the CBC video and article, it's states that Rochester has received "threats of violence" since Wendy spoke out and shared the story. However, this claim appears to be a lie, as his name wasn't mentioned in any news articles or video's prior to his interview with CBC. In fact, he doesn't appear to have a presence on social media or anywhere else online under the name he provided to CBC.
Washik has been suspended from her job as an educational assistant pending the resolution of the criminal case. Wendy's next court date is in December at the Simcoe courthouse.
The Canadian Independent will continue to monitor this story.
A GiveSendGo has been launched to help Wendy raise funds for legal fees; a link to the donation campaign is below.
You can watch our initial interview with Wendy below.
WATCH: A Simcoe man, who had his neighbour charged with assault after being sprayed with a water gun, alleges that the incident was racially motivated in an interview with CBC