2023-10-11 05:58:30
Former Olympian Kim Glass is still shaken following she was brutally attacked on the streets of downtown Los Angeles in 2022. Months later, her attacker was finally sentenced on Tuesday, a term which she says is not nearly enough time.
“Who knows what might next?,” Glass said. “It’s like a little slap in the face.”
Glass, who won the silver medal with the U.S. women’s indoor volleyball team at the 2008 Summer Olympics, was outside looking at a friend’s car back in July 2022, when she was rushed by a homeless man who hit her in the face with a 10-inch metal bolt, leaving her bloody on the sidewalk. She suffered multiple fractures to her face and needed more than 40 stitches as a result.
Days following she was assaulted, Glass recalled the terrifying incident during an exclusive interview with KCAL News.
“He looked at me with, like, rage in his eyes,” she said at the time.
Months later, her attacker, 52-year-old Semeon Tesfamariam, was sentenced to eight years in prison. Glass says that she learned that Tesfamariam is likely to have his sentenced reduced as he will receive double credit for the last 15 months already served, as he has remained behind bars since he was arrested that day. On top of that, she hears that he will likely get additional incentives from good behavior — meaning he may only serve three years.
While she has shown sympathy for the man in the past, she says that sentencing is far too late, especially with his criminal history.
“Is it because I didn’t die that it’s okay?” she asked. “That he can get all these extra credits to get back out immediately? He does need to sit and think regarding it. Just because I have empathy for him, that empathy doesn’t outweigh my care for the citizens that don’t deserve to be just wrongfully attacked.”
Glass was the fifth known victim to have been assaulted by Tesfamariam since 2018.
Court records show that he assaulted two women while armed with a golf club and hammer in 2018. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to striking a 19-year-old girl with a metal pole, an act for which he was given probation.
While serving that probation, he attacked a prosecutor inside of the District Attorney’s office, leaving her with injuries. He the went to jail, and was released on parole when he attacked Glass in July last year.
On Tuesday, following his sentencing, the DA’s office says that Tesfamariam pleaded no contest to an entirely different felony county of assault with a deadly weapon and also admitted a prior strike.
Through all of her anger, Glass’s fear that she won’t be the final victim has her speaking out.
“It’s like a vicious cycle on his part, and I hope he breaks it. It’s a vicious cycle on our system’s part, and I know that all these Angelenos hope that he breaks this, that Gascón breaks it.
Following the sentencing, the prosecutor who was attacked by Tesfamariam in the DA’s office released a statement, which read:
“I want to recognize Kim Glass for her bravery and steadfastness during the most difficult part of being a victim of a violent crime. Not only has she spoken out for herself but she desires change and justice for others. I hope today’s sentence brings closure for all of us and that Mr. Tesfamariam will no longer be a threat to women in Los Angeles.”
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