A father, who beat his son’s mother after he tried to talk to her about the child’s maintenance, was fined and placed on a bond when he reappeared in the No. 5 Supreme Court yesterday.
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“The court recognises you went to speak to her about getting some assistance with the child and obviously you weren’t satisfied with her response and you took matters into your own hand,” Justice Pamela Beckles told Marlon Terry Martyr.
“You can’t do that. This is money that should really be going to taking care of this child and now you have to pay it as a fine because you are not a first-time offender and I can’t give you a slap on the wrist.”
Martyr, 30, formerly of September Square, Harts Gap, Christ Church, and now of Wavell Avenue, Black Rock, St Michael, had pleaded guilty to entering Saeeda Kalang’s house on January 27, 2018, and attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm on Olivia Burgess.
He also pleaded guilty to assaulting Burgess and occasioning her actual bodily harm on the same date.
He was represented by Senior Counsel Arthur Holder and attorney Brandi Browne, while Senior State Counsel Kevin Forde prosecuted.
The judge said she had considered the nature and gravity of the offence and that Martyr entered the woman’s home and assaulted her; the relation between the two parties; that the woman was physically assaulted in her home “where she ought to feel safe”, and that Martyr struck her multiple times in the face.
“Your belief, reasonable though it may be, that the complainant should have been contributing financially towards the maintenance of the child was no justification for your actions,” Justice Beckles told Martyr.
As a result, she determined that five years was the appropriate starting point for the burglary offence.
She also considered the early guilty plea, his remorse and cooperation with police and his favourable pre-sentencing report. She also noted he had a previous conviction for burglary.
The judge then deducted a year for the mitigating features and one-third for the guilty plea.
“After a thorough review of the circumstances of this case, and recognising that the child in question depends on you financially and emotionally for support, and after reviewing the submissions made from both sides, the court has decided to substitute a period of imprisonment with a fine with respect to the charge of burglary,” Justice Beckles explained.
She fined him $5 000 in three months or 975 days in jail in default for the burglary charge.
The judge further placed him on a bond to keep the peace for 24 months for the assault charge. If Martyr breaches it, he will spend 12 months in jail.
“You know you have a child and you will come into contact with each other. Don’t let it get violent where you end up with a criminal conviction because this 975 days will be activated,” she warned Martyr. (HLE)