ARSONIST SENTENCED
Bilek gets house arrest
The scars covering arsonist Eric Bilek’s arms and legs are a permanent reminder of his crimes.
Bilek set fire to two Windsor businesses in 2015. His work at the Rack n Roll Bar and Grill on Forest Glade Drive in June went off without a hitch. Fire investigators quickly concluded the blaze had been intentionally set, but they had no suspects.
Then came the second fire in October. Bilek went into the Original Pizza Brothers on Wyandotte Street East at night and torched the place. But things didn’t go according to plan. He set off an explosion that left him clinging to life, 60 per cent of his body covered in burns.
Bilek, who pleaded guilty to two counts of arson, appeared in Ontario court Monday for sentencing. Justice Micheline Rawlins imposed 18 months of house arrest, followed by a year on probation.
Assistant Crown attorney Craig Houle called it a lenient, but appropriate, sentence.
“Usually this kind of crime would warrant a jail sentence, a substantial jail sentence,” Houle said in court. But, he added, “It’s been a hard lesson for Mr. Bilek.”
Bilek, 23, had to be airlifted to a Hamilton hospital with a specialized burn unit. There, he was placed in a medically induced coma. He lives in pain, recently getting approved for a medical marijuana prescription he can’t afford to fill.
Defence lawyer Laura Joy said Bilek has worked steadily since recovering from his injuries. He has a good work history, never being on social assistance since leaving his parents’ strict Christian home at age 16. He set the fires to supplement his income. But, said Joy, he never got paid.
Bilek confessed his crimes to police and agreed to testify against Nadal Hamade, 39, who was described in court as his “co-conspirator.”
Court heard Hamade put Bilek up to his crimes and was with him at the pizzeria at the time of the explosion. But Hamade refused to help the badly burned man get medical attention.
Hamade pleaded guilty to being an accessory to arson after the fact and failing to provide assistance in relation to the life or safety of another person. Hamade was sentenced earlier this month to one year on house arrest.
During his sentence, Bilek will be able to leave his home for work, but can’t make any stops along the way. He can be outside of his home only with the permission of the officer assigned to supervise him.
He can’t communicate in any way with Hamade and he can’t go near the two addresses he torched.
Rawlins warned Bilek that if he breaks any of the conditions of his house arrest, he will have to serve the remainder of his sentence in a real jail.
“I take my commitment to the public very, very seriously,” Rawlins said. She said the last thing she wants is for people to think her sentences are “a big joke.”
Invited to address the court, Bilek said, “I’m sorry ... I clearly wasn’t thinking.”
This is Bilek’s first criminal conviction. Rawlins said she took that into consideration. She also considered Bilek’s young age and his injuries, she said.
“Everyday you wake up in the morning, you should thank God you’re alive.”