PHILIPSBURG–The Court of First Instance on Wednesday meted out a prison sentence of four years, two of which were suspended, on five years’ probation against a 38-year-old woman for the systematic mistreatment of her fourteen-year-old son between June 22 and July 27, 2019.
After a report from a local resident, the police found a Spanish-speaking boy sitting in front of a home in Cay Hill on July 27, 2019. Scars and burns could be seen on the child’s abdomen and back, often in a similar shape, as if the wounds were inflicted with a certain object.
People in the neighbourhood told the police that the mother should be locked up, and that she gets home drunk every day and then start hitting her son.
Giselly Luciano Gonzalez Dominquez was accused of premeditated severe mistreatment for which the prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of four years, one of which was to be suspended, with Parole Board supervision and mandatory treatment.
The boy, who was born and raised in the Dominican Republic is living with his mother and a younger brother and sister since January 25, 2019. He never lived with them before. He told the police that his mother, who also fights with her husband, abused him by burning him with a heated metal spoon all over his body and by beating him with rebar, extension cords and a piece of wood. Once, he was also threatened with a knife.
He said his mother is not a good person who goes out a lot and drinks. When she comes home, she fights with her husband, arguing a lot.
“I have to clean up, like tidy up and wash the dishes. If she talks to me two or three times and I don’t listen, she would beat me,” the boy told the police. His two siblings were not to tell anyone about the beatings, or they would receive some licks as well.
Based on the evidence and a medical report on the neglected and abused child, the court considered mistreatment proven, speaking of “terrible and numerous” traces of mistreatment.
Lawyer’s pleadings to disregard the statements of the victim’s siblings, because the defence was not allowed to ask them any questions, were dismissed.
The prosecutor considered premeditated mistreatment proven, because of the period of time during which the crimes were committed and the modus operandi in which a metal object was heated on a furnace and then pressed on the victim’s skin.
The judge said the defendant, who had hardly said anything during the court hearing, had much of a mentally disturbed person. An investigating psychologist mentioned low intelligence, no age-appropriate behaviour and indications of alcohol abuse.
According to the court it could not be excluded that the defendant had acted on impulses, facilitated by her mental disturbance. This led the court to the conclusion that she had not acted on premeditation. However, the Court held the first offender fully accountable for her acts.
“It is hard to imagine how a mother can mistreat so horribly a child she has carried and nursed … The nasty pictures of an abused boy’s body speak volumes and it is feared that the poor boy is both physically and mentally damaged for life,” this could only be answered with a prison sentence of considerable duration, the judge said in the verdict.
Attorney Sjamira Roseburg said after the verdict that her client was very upset. The lawyer will be discussing a possible appeal with her client at a later date.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/92829-mother-has-to-sit-for-two-years-for-mistreating-14-year-old-son
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