Barcelos resident punished for prolonged domestic violence
A Braga court imposed a suspended prison sentence on a sexagenarian from Pereira, Barcelos, for physical and psychological abuse and sexual assault of his partner over 35 years. The victim will be awarded compensation of 10,000 euros.
Barcelos resident punished for prolonged domestic violence
A Braga court imposed a suspended prison sentence on a sexagenarian from Pereira, Barcelos, for physical and psychological abuse and sexual assault of his partner over 35 years. The victim will be awarded compensation of 10,000 euros.
The judicial decision, dated 8 July, provides that the execution of the sentence is conditional upon a probation programme, with a social reintegration plan to be defined by the competent authorities.
The judge considered that the actions of the 60-year-old defendant harmed the woman's physical and mental health, violating her sexual freedom. The victim felt disdained, diminished and humiliated in her personal dignity, suffering pain, fear, unease, anxiety and shame.
The couple married in 1988, separated in 2015 and remarried in 2017. The abuse began in 1989, when the woman was pregnant.
The ruling refers to five instances of physical assault, involving punches, slaps and kicks, which caused pain and a haematoma to the right eye. On a weekly basis, the defendant would start arguments and insult his partner.
At trial, the defendant denied the facts, accusing the woman of attempting to extort money from him and attributing responsibility for the marital conflicts to her. He alleged that the victim's mental health problems would be the source of the disagreements.
The court rejected this version, concluding that the conduct was carried out with direct intent and that the domestic violence crime persisted over an extended period of time.
In the defendant's favour, the court valued the absence of criminal records and his good integration in the community, both family and professional. The couple have been separated in fact since April 2024 and no incidents have been recorded following the end of cohabitation, factors that justified the suspended sentence.
Source: Correio da Manhã
Source: Correio da Manhã