Month in jail for man who head-butted partner

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This article was published 11/03/2022 (1465 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who head-butted his partner during an argument was sent to jail for a month Thursday afternoon.

The 49-year-old man previously pleaded guilty to a charge in the Jan. 6, 2021 incident. The Sun is not naming the man to protect the identity of the victim.

At approximately 10:50 p.m., Brandon police received a call from a residence in the city’s west end from a woman complaining her boyfriend had just assaulted her, according to a police report contained in a pre-sentence report.

When police arrived a few minutes later, they met the woman in the hallway. She said her boyfriend, the accused, was in the living room and had been drinking all day, according to the report.

The woman told police she got into an argument with the man over his drinking. She didn’t want him drinking there as the woman’s daughter was upstairs, the report reads.

The man said he wanted to kick her in the head and she responded: “If you hit me, I will hit you back,” according to the report.

The accused then grabbed her by the wrists as she sat on the couch and head butted her in the forehead. The report notes police saw a lump on the left side of her forehead.

The man was arrested without incident, according to the presentence report.

He reportedly had a case of beer by his legs and showed signs of being intoxicated, according to the report.

Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup recommended a sentence of between 60 and 90 days in jail followed by two years of supervised probation. He said the assault was against an Indigenous woman, who are “hugely more vulnerable” to domestic violence.

“The level of harm here is on the relatively low end physically … but when you read that victim impact statement, you can see there’s nothing minimal. She was scarred by this emotionally,” Lonstrup said.

He also noted the victim wanted the maximum protection order and to move on to a new chapter of her life.

“There is a singular breach of trust involved when someone is abused by their domestic partner — thats’ the person they’re supposed to feel safest with,” he said.

Defence lawyer Michael Nerbas said the man had a difficult childhood and shows true remorse. He has a number of Gladue factors and attended a federal Indian day school. The negative effect of attending the school and loss of culture has had a ripple effect throughout his life. Alcohol was also a factor, he said.

Nerbas recommended a four-month conditional sentence order for the crime.

Judge John Combs called domestic violence a “prevalent societal problem” with “horrible ramifications.” He said he had to weigh the factors with the man’s difficult upbringing and how it scarred him.

He said the accused needed to be “diligent” in dealing with his issues for the rest of his life, noting he seems to have a temper and addiction issues.

“That’s a lethal combination … and one that has resulted in too many people being hurt.”

Combs sentenced the man to 30 days in jail followed by two years of probation. He also banned him from owning firearms for 10 years and to provide a DNA sample to police.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @DrewMay_