“Because she made the burgers wrong”, he hits her with a curtain rod in Seine-Maritime

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At the end of November, a young woman encouraged by her father presented herself to Bois-Guillaume police station for information on violence against women.

The police officer who receives her quickly understands that the young woman was herself a victim of violence and relays the information to the hierarchy who in turn alerts the Public Prosecutor's Office. He entrusted the investigation to the Neufchâtel-en-Bray brigade (Seine-Maritime) which calls out to the spouse. The 40-year-old man appeared in court a few days later.

“There’s something wrong with me.”

At the bar of the Dieppe court, the man keeps a low profile: he explains what he has already told investigators. The argument allegedly started over burgers poorly prepared by the young woman. “I don't necessarily have specific memories but I hit my partner, the mother of my daughter. I took a curtain rod so I wouldn’t have to use my hands.” And he specifies:

I have 17 years of boxing behind me. If I had hit with my hands, you can imagine the damage I would have done.

The judge presents him with photos of the young woman which show that the beating(s) curtain rod were violent enough to leave an impressive hematoma.

The man confides that he has a problem:

I can't manage the stress, the anxiety. There's something wrong with me.

An idealized family

The young man and young woman analyze the situation sanely: “We stayed together because of the little one. We love each other but there is no more love, there are things that no longer match between us,” declares the victim.

And continues: “We both come from divorced parents, we had idealized a family that we wanted to build against all odds. It was a mistake.”

Concerning the events of November 24, the young woman explains that she mainly felt fear:

It took away the pain, I didn't feel it. I was curled up on myself.

Firm prison for the accused

The representative of the Public Ministry has doubts about this presentation of the story: “It is unpleasant to hear Mr. minimize. He must understand that we must put an end to this cycle of tension and violence. They must also be aware of the consequences on their child. Children, even at a very young age, feel when their mother is beaten.”

It requires 30 months in prison with reinforced probationary suspension, carrying obligation of care, to follow the modules of a center dedicated to perpetrators of family violence. She also requests that the accused be prohibited from contacting the victim and come to his home.

Me Ruiz underlines how ashamed her client is of what he did but she believes that prison is not the appropriate response:

My client has a major psychological problem, he especially needs care.

The court will, however, decide to send the accused back behind bars by handing down a sentence of 24 months in prison, 16 of which will be accompanied by a probationary suspension, taking up the requests of the Prosecutor's Office.

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