Violent spouses who believe they can get away with it because they have always led an orderly life may forget the leniency of the courts, a judge has warned when sentencing one of them to three years in prison.
“The era of tolerance for domestic violence is now over and the courts must express […] society’s intolerance of such violence. No man has the right to brutalize his wife,” warned Judge Serge Cimon this week at the Laval courthouse.
Facing him was a 40-year-old businessman who owned several restaurants in Montreal. However, out of sight hid a husband as violent as he was controlling.
Thus, the accused, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victims, occasionally beat his wife, even in the presence of their children who begged him to stop. In fact, he sometimes picked on them too, even if they were young.
In public, the businessman did not hesitate to insult his wife while in private, he happened to carry her around on the floor, pulling her by the hair. And when she asked him for money, he would spit on a note before wiping it on his wife’s hair and giving it to her.
“Any relationship between partners is based on trust, mutual respect and love,” said the judge. Instead, the accused chose to build the relationship on the pillars of violence, fear and anguish. »
After 10 years of suffering, the woman finally managed to leave her husband, even though she found herself in a precarious economic situation as he had never really let her work.
And at the end of his trial, the accused was found guilty of a host of charges, including assault causing bodily harm and threats.
“The courts must underline the courage shown by the complainants who manage to denounce this type of crime, insisted on saying the judge. Also, a ‘victim’ should never blame themselves or be blamed for experiencing domestic violence. »
However, despite his crimes, the accused thought he could get away with weekend jail and community service. Because for him, it was a severe sentence for someone with no criminal history who is “an asset to society”.
He had even pleaded that a long prison sentence would be harmful for his ex-wife, since he paid her alimony. He said he risked losing his restaurants, and therefore no longer being able to pay.
“He also alleges that the court should take into account the happy moments the family experienced,” the judge added.
Except that the attitude of the courts with regard to domestic violence has evolved, recalled the judge.
“Historically, it was considered a private matter and the courts were more concerned with preserving the integrity of the family unit than with ending the violence,” he explained. This was a mistake. »
But justice is now able to understand the seriousness of this type of crime.
“The intention of the government authorities is firm: ‘zero tolerance for domestic violence’. It is only natural for the judiciary to follow suit,” he said.
Thus, after exhaustively weighing every detail of the case, after weighing both aggravating and mitigating circumstances, he concluded that the accused did not deserve any leniency. He therefore sided with the Crown’s suggestion by sentencing this violent spouse to three years in prison, during which he will not be able to communicate with his ex-wife.
“The courts will be more and more severe for this kind of crime,” the judge also warned all those who would be tempted to also attack their spouse, regardless of the reason.
Reference-www.tvanouvelles.ca