Rhonda Wozniak only received nine months of probation for the July 28, 2020 assault committed against three Black families outside a bakery in Swampscott, Massachusetts. She was sentenced on Nov. 9.
Wozniak assaulted three Black families, three women and their five children, leaving The Cookie Monstah bakery in Swampscott. Wozniak was driving through the parking lot and allegedly accelerated when she saw the women and children. She stopped just short of hitting them.
When one of the women asked her to slow down, Wozniak told them to go back to where they came from and called them racial slurs. The children were between five and 12-years-old at the time of the assault.
The Essex County District Attorney’s Office released a statement addressing the incident.
“Suddenly, Wozniak, who is white, came speeding toward them in her motor vehicle, nearly hitting them,” said the press. “When one of the women asked her to slow down, she shouted racial insults and slurs at them and told them to go back where they belong. One of the children asked their mother, ‘Where do we belong?’”
After initially pleading not guilty, Wozniak admitted guilt to eight civil rights violations and assault with a dangerous weapon. The 61-year-old Lynn woman was sentenced to nine months of probation by the Lynn District Court for the parking lot episode.
Her attorneys said they planned to take the case to trial and were surprised to learn that Wozniak wanted to accept a plea deal in exchange for probation.
Police were able to identify Wozniak from surveillance footage in the area that captured her license plate.
Despite conceding that Wozniak’s crime was harmful to the community, Blodgett did not think her actions warranted jail time. The families, who did not want to be identified, had no comment about Wozniak’s sentencing.
According to Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, Wozniak must also perform 40 hours of community service. She was also ordered to stay away from the people she assaulted.
