A defendant, currently under house arrest with electronic monitoring, has been sentenced to an additional penalty, prohibiting any form of contact with the victim, now his ex-wife, for three years and 10 months. He is also required to compensate her with five thousand euros.
The couple married in 1985, according to the court ruling. In 2016, when the woman confronted her husband about the possibility of an extramarital affair, he insulted her and “slapped, punched, kicked, and pulled her hair, hitting her in every body part he could, all while denying having lovers.”
The judgment also mentions that in 2020, following an argument, he once again insulted and assaulted her, even threatening her with a knife.
Additional incidents are recorded, including one where the defendant “stabbed her in the stomach with a screwdriver,” causing slight bleeding.
Some of these events were witnessed by the grandchildren.
Subsequently, the victim temporarily moved to a shelter.
The court found that the defendant acted “with the intent to repeatedly insult and harm her physically and mentally, affecting her physical and mental well-being, personal peace, honor, and dignity.”
The court observed that the man was aware of “inflicting physical and psychological abuse on his wife, humiliating her, subjecting her to degrading treatment, and causing her constant humiliation, anxiety, and fear,” acting with “manifest insensitivity.”
In determining the sentence, the court considered “the very high demands of general prevention” and “the serious nature and intent of the acts.”
According to the verdict, “The criminal behavior perpetrated by the defendant persisted for a considerable period,” proven to be at least around a decade. The defendant is retired with no prior criminal record and “showed no remorse for his actions,” as evidenced by his statements in court.
In February, the Public Security Police announced the arrest of the man in Leiria, suspected of exerting “physical violence” throughout their 40-year marriage, along with making threats and insults on several occasions.
