The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-TX) today welcomed a guilty plea by a woman who attempted to drown a three-year-old Muslim girl to death in Euless but expressed disappointment at the relatively light sentence imposed.

Elizabeth Wolf, a woman who forced a 3-year-old Palestinian girl under the water in a Euless apartment swimming pool, pleaded guilty last week to attempted murder of a minor and injury to another.  Wolf, whose crime was based on the mother’s religion, spoken language, and ethnicity, was sentenced 5 years including the time she has already served in the jail. 

SEE: Woman who tried to drown Muslim girl in Euless pleads guilty to attempted murder

In a statement, CAIR-TX Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll said:

“The mind struggles to comprehend the kind of evil that would try to drown a little girl out of hatred for her religion and ethnicity. Although we are concerned with the length of the sentencing given the severity of the crime against the children, we welcome this guilty plea as an important step in the direction of justice for the family. These kinds of crimes cannot be tolerated and must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We wonder what would have happened if the roles were reversed.”

In a statement, CAIR-Austin Operations Manager Shaimaa Zayan said:

“It is a relief for the family to finalize this tragic chapter of their life and move on in their healing journey. However, I am deeply disappointed by the inadequate five-year sentence given to the woman who pleaded guilty to attempting to drown a 3-year-old child — a crime driven by hatred toward the mother’s religion, ethnicity, and spoken language. This sentence sends a disturbing message that violent, hate-motivated attacks committed in broad daylight against the most vulnerable among us can be met with minimal accountability. It fails to reflect the severity of the trauma inflicted and does little to deter future acts of hate targeting Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities. “

CAIR-TX previously welcomed the indictment of the perpetrator. 

SEE: CAIR-TX Welcomes Indictment in Attempted Drowning of Palestinian-American Muslim Child

CAIR-TX also previously welcomed local law enforcement’s call for prosecutors in Tarrant County to treat the murder attempt as a hate crime.

SEE: CAIR-Texas Welcomes Police Call for Prosecutors to Treat Attempted Murder of Muslim Child as Hate Crime

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CONTACT: CAIR-Austin Operations Manager Shaimaa Zayan, 1-512-785-7105, szayan@cairtx.org; CAIR-DFW Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll, 469-200-0273, mcarroll@gmail.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com