Man beats mother in front of daughter

A man who beat the mother of his daughter with a stick has been fined, ordered to pay compensation and placed on bond.

Etian John of Greiggs appeared before magistrate Bertie Pompey at the Biabou Magistrate’s Court on March 9, charged with assault, causing bodily harm.

The court heard that on January 1, 2018, John visited the home of Danette Durrant of Greiggs to collect their eight-year-old daughter, as had been arranged. John later returned to Durrant’s house at about 6:45 p.m. without their daughter.

Durrant told the court that when she enquired about her daughter’s whereabouts, she was told if she wanted to know, she should have been with her.

“John appeared drunk and I left him lying down on the ground in my yard while I went to look for my daughter,” she said.

Durrant further told the court that after she collected her daughter and they were returning home, John met them and told her to turn back. She said she refused and walked away, but John came behind her and hit her with a piece of stick in her face and on her left side.

She escaped further injury when a man took her into his house and locked the door.

With tears in her eyes, Durrant told the court, “I was very frightened; it was not the first time John had hit me and I felt bad because my daughter was there.”

In his defence, John said he himself has sustained injuries and spoke about his relationship with Durrant.

After finding John guilty, Pompey told John that he does not support violence against women in any form and that he had assaulted Durrant in the presence of their daughter.

Prosecutor Delroy Tittle asked the court to take the matter seriously and let it be noted that Durrant has been a victim of abuse by this man.

Pompey fined John $600 forthwith or 12 months imprisonment; $800 compensation to be paid in two weeks, or 12 months imprisonment. He was also placed on a $1,000 bond for a year. If the bond is breached, he will spend six months in prison.(GHJ)