Quebec Court of Appeal judges Suzanne Gagné, Christine Baudouin and Geneviève Marcotte have allowed a woman convicted of a vicious biting attack to serve a reduced sentence at home.

In a Sept. 14 decision, the judges replaced Macdala Monfiston’s four-year prison sentence with a conditional sentence of two years less a day.

Monfiston pleaded guilty to aggravated assault after attacking a woman outside a Laval bar in December 2022. The eight-minute assault was captured on surveillance video.

Monfiston pulled the victim’s hair, kicked her while she was on the ground and repeatedly bit her face and arms. According to the Journal de Montréal, a piece of flesh measuring approximately four by six centimetres was torn from the victim’s eyebrow area, leaving a prominent scar.

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The appeal court concluded the original sentencing judge failed to give sufficient weight to the consequences imprisonment could have on Monfiston’s immigration status and four children in her care.

Monfiston is a permanent resident who came to Canada at age two but never obtained citizenship. The court said a penitentiary sentence could impair her ability to challenge removal from Canada.

“The prison sentence has a much greater impact on the defendant than on other offenders who might have committed similar acts,” the judges wrote, according to the National Post.

Monfiston previously received convictions for theft, obstructing a peace officer and drug possession, although the appeal court noted those offences were not violent.

The victim said she was furious that Monfiston would be permitted to serve the sentence at home. Crown prosecutor Simon Blais is reportedly considering an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.