A 20-year-old woman who became infamous last February for chucking a chair off the 45th floor of a downtown Toronto balcony—otherwise known as "Chair Girl"—will not face any jail time.
Marcella Zoia has been sentenced to a $2000 fine, two years of probation, and 150 hours of community service after pleading guilty to her crime of mischief endangering life.
Zoya's case has been the subject of much outrage in Toronto for over a year after a viral video showed her tossing a steel and wood chair off the balcony, crashing to the ground below and narrowly missing the Gardiner Expressway and a woman with a child in a stroller. Since then, she's managed to parlay her online notoriety into a career as an Instagram model, even making a much-criticized cameo in Drake's music video for "War."
Prosecutors had argued that Zoia should spend months in prison and be banned from social media.
But Zoia’s lawyer Greg Leslie argued no jail time was necessary, holding that her decision to hurl the chair was due to alcohol and peer pressure.
Justice Mara Greene delivered the ruling during a teleconference Tuesday afternoon with Zoia, Leslie, and Crown prosecutor Heather Keating.
"Given the serious potential for harm in this case, and the public nature of this event, there is a strong need to deter others," said Greene, reading her ruling. "It is my view that engaging in dangerous acts to gain notoriety is unacceptable."
"Having said that she was only 19 at the time of the offence," Greene continued, noting that Zoia had recently attended a one-day alcohol abuse program. "Rehabilitation can not be ignored."
Greene also noted that while Zoia's actions were deliberate, she has since shown "some insight" and taken responsibility for her actions.
A social media ban was not included in Zoia's sentence.
