Woman at centre of weekend Marlborough Hotel mayhem charged in fall knife attack By: Tyler Searle Posted: 5:54 PM CST Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024 Last Modified: 7:43 PM CST Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024 Updates

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A woman who sparked public outcry after she was restrained by staff at a city hotel for allegedly attempting to stab an employee was charged with a similar assault two months earlier.

A review of court records revealed RCMP charged the 18-year-old woman with assault with a weapon on Sept. 25 after she allegedly stabbed a man on a remote Manitoba First Nation.

The woman was thrust into the public spotlight last weekend, as dozens of people rallied inside the Marlborough Hotel in response to a social media video showing staff binding her arms behind her back and preventing her from leaving 331 Smith St.

In the video, the woman accuses a man of being a “pervert” and says she was punched in the face and touched in her “private spot.”

The Sunday afternoon rally took a violent turn when some of the demonstrators broke off from the main group and vandalized property after forcing their way into the hotel’s basement, alleging human trafficking was taking place there.

In the days since, staff at the hotel faced threats and have begun locking the lobby doors to prevent public access. Numerous police units were parked outside Wednesday.

“The WPS is aware of a threat toward the hotel and are investigating. We are working with the hotel management regarding safety precautions,” police said Wednesday.

“Any decisions regarding the evacuation or operations of the hotel moving forward are up to the management.”

A 29-year-old man suffered minor injuries related to the September stabbing. He was treated at a nursing station in Bunibonibee Cree Nation (Oxford House), roughly 950 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

“It was determined that a group of people had attended a residence, and a confrontation had taken place. During that confrontation, the victim was stabbed. The suspect was identified… located and arrested,” Manitoba RCMP said in an email statement.

The woman was charged with assault with a weapon and released. Records show she was charged with failing to comply with curfew conditions on Dec. 1.

She was charged with assault with a weapon in Winnipeg on Dec. 25.

She has not been convicted on any of the charges and is expected to appear in provincial court Tuesday.

Footage showing her restrained in the hotel lobby appeared online the day after the incident, but did not come to police attention until last week. Marlborough staff are not facing charges for restraining the woman, but the video has prompted a separate investigation, the Winnipeg Police Service said previously.

The rally at the downtown hotel Sunday afternoon turned sour less than an hour after it began, when a group of people entered the building’s basement and forced open several locked doors, smashing alcohol bottles, flipping furniture and tearing through the contents of metal lockers.

Signs, chants and speeches made during the protest included demands for police to search the basement for evidence of human trafficking.

It is unclear who initiated efforts to go into the lower level, which includes a bar area, kitchen and a network of hallways, rooms, storage spaces and industrial equipment.

The Liquor Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba confirmed the hotel holds an active, general liquor service licence for the basement bar, which was home to Crickets Comedy Club as recently as 2020. Before that, it was home to the Winnipeg Press Club.

The basement area became licensed as a dining room on Aug. 15, 2008 and that permit type transitioned to a general liquor service licence on Sept. 1, 2023, owing to legislative changes.

The LGCA has not issued any compliance orders to the Marlborough since 2020, it said.

While recent allegations of human trafficking claims at the hotel are unsubstantiated, the hotel was named in a 2014 criminal case that saw two men sentenced to prison for running an escort service out of city hotel rooms.

The operation included rooms at the Marlborough and the Thriftlodge on Notre Dame Avenue that were used as prostitution hubs at different points between August and October the previous year.

The Marlborough is frequent source of emergency responses.

Data from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service shows the address logged a combined 427 calls for fire and emergency medical service in 2022 and 2023.

The WPS does not provide calls for service data at specific addresses.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Southern Chiefs Organization and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak have all issued statements committing to cut ties with the Marlborough, which is used by some Indigenous organizations to temporarily house people in the city for medical appointments.

The AMC, SCO and MKO did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Police are continuing to investigate the allegations and subsequent property damage at the hotel.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca