A 30-year-old construction worker who beat his common-law wife after finding a video of her and another man on her phone was spared immediate prison time, despite the pleas of the prosecutor.
Acting Sergeant of Police Corlene Samuel argued at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court that the man, Nerris Lewis, who said he lives and works in Bequia, should be jailed to show the seriousness of the crime and to act as a deterrent to others.
She said some men think they should hit women if something goes “wrong” in a relationship.
“Too much is happening in our society and it needs to stop,” Samuel said.
She suggested a jail term that is more than “just a slap on the wrist or a walk”, but noted that the magistrate had the final say.
Lewis was arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm at Langley Park, Georgetown.
Samuel said the virtual complainant and Lewis were in a 15-year common-law relationship that produced three children.
On May 17, the VC was braiding her daughter’s hair when Lewis approached her with a video of the VC and another male.
Lewis took the VC’s phone into the bedroom, searched it and saw “different contacts’ information”.
Lewis became upset and started arguing with the VC.
The VC told Lewis that she and the people in her contacts were just friends.
Lewis followed her outside and began to slap and beat the VC with his hands.
A medical report said the VC sustained several abrasions. However, the magistrate said they were “not severe”.
As the magistrate was considering her sentence, Lewis informed the court that he wasn’t feeling well as he “had not eaten since yesterday”.
He refused a mint from a court orderly, saying, “Gas already full me up.”
The magistrate ordered Lewis to pay compensation of EC$800 by June 13 or spend four months in prison.
Additionally, he was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for a year.
After handing down the sentence, the magistrate told Lewis to keep away from trouble.
“I will stay in Bequia and keep far from family. They don’t care about me,” Lewis responded, adding, “Only my father showed up for me”.
The magistrate told Lewis that maybe it was not that his family did not care but that they did not condone his actions.
PC573 Young was the investigator.