Filthy bastard

A 24-year old punk was placed on probation today for assaulting his girlfriend of 5 years. I witness dozens of these cases every week, but today was different. The abused and her family requested to read their victim impact statements before the court.

The victim spoke first. Tears were streaming down her face and her hands were trembling. She bravely told the judge her story explaining how her boyfriend beat, strangled and choked her, how he pulled her through the house by her hair, how he whipped and burned her, and how even though she still loved him, she could no longer allow him to treat her - or their infant son - in this way.

The victim's mother then read her letter telling the judge the pain and hurt she'd seen in her daughter's eyes, yet how loyal she'd been to her boyfriend, despite his constant physical and verbal abuse. The mother said that she realized early on that there was little she could do to protect her daughter, and that trying to separate the two only compelled her daughter to run further into the arms of the boy.

Finally the father, an ex-marine, attempted to explain to the court the rage he felt when he was finally forced to recognize that his young daughter wasn't just "bumping into a cabinet at work" or "taking an elbow in a basketball game". Like I suspect many fathers would, he wanted to kill the boy, and he admitted this to the court. Yet instead he called the police, and continued to file reports until something was done. He said in the final instance, the boy beat his daughter with a 2 inch wooden dowel, which was shamefully attached at the opposite end to an American flag.

Today I was sitting where I could see both the family and the abuser's faces. This kid was well dressed and clean cut - interestingly he looked a lot like the recent pictures of Scott Peterson. While the family spoke, the defendant showed absolutely no remorse, no sadness at all. Even my eyes welled up with tears, but not his. All I could see was an emptiness in his eyes, a deep empty hollow. I watched him repeatedly clench his jaw and his fists. He is so angry. He felt embarrassed and disrespected. I don't know how or when, but I have no doubt that this kid will go find this beautiful young woman and hurt her again. I am so afraid that I will read about her in the paper one day. And how lousy that even when working in "the system" I still feel completely helpless to do anything to help her.