“I want to thank the neighbor who alerted the police.
It is far too rare.
Without her, this hearing would not have taken place and this woman would still suffer violence from her companion.
Marie-Céline Lawrysz, public prosecutor, never ceases to see these men parading at the bar who beat their wives or ex-wives.
This Monday, it was the turn of Stephen, 37 years old.
He was arrested on June 11, in his apartment in Compiègne, around 1:15 a.m.
It was therefore a nearby resident, hearing the screams and beatings, who alerted the authorities.
Stephen admitted to the facts and was sentenced to 16 months in prison, four of which were closed.
He no longer has the right to approach his companion.
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In the light of this arrest, the investigators will discover that Sylvie * has in fact been abused since 2016 and the birth of their first child.
“I didn't really know how to take care of it, I was young.
It annoyed him, so to make me understand, he gave me slaps, slaps, ”she said at the hearing.
Then, gradually, insults and beatings became anchored in time.
A semi-automatic pistol in the apartment
His companion drinks and loses control regularly.
On June 11, “I had drunk a flask of rum around 6 pm, then we had dinner and at 9 pm we went to the park with our 5 year old and 1 month old daughters.
When I got home, I drank three beers.
I couldn't stand the mixture, I can't remember hitting it.
"
Sylvie bears the scars of her outburst of violence.
Lump on the skull, bruises, black eye, scratches on the face.
She was literally beaten up.
It was only when she went to see her baby to put her to sleep and then in the bathroom to clean the blood that was flowing from her mouth, that her partner stopped.
Their oldest of five will say to the police, “Daddy called mom a bitch.
In court, the man burst into tears.
He apologizes, claims that he wants the best for his family, that he experienced a similar situation as a child and yet he does not want to reproduce it.
“I love them so much,” he sobs.
"It's easy to hide behind a bottle"
But the neighbor describes him as a "terrifying" man who sometimes walks around with a gun.
An 8 mm caliber semi-automatic pistol that was found in the apartment, in a locked box.
“I found it a long time ago at Gare du Nord, in Paris.
I brought it back without knowing what it was and when I understood I didn't know what to do with it, so I kept it.
"
The prosecutor and the judges did not believe his explanation, nor his memory loss due to alcohol.
"You can tell me all the brands of beer you've drunk, but you don't remember the shots?"
annoys the prosecutor.
It's easy to hide behind a bottle.
It wasn't the alcohol that hit your wife, it was you!
"
* The first name has been changed.