Facing hard times, woman asks for husband’s release despite alleged assault

After she accused her common-law husband of kicking her several times while she had their infant child in her arms, a housewife yesterday requested that he be released from prison because she was “finding things hard” as he is the sole breadwinner of their home.

However, Magistrate Alex Moore refused to grant Ureta Alexander’s request after she maintained that the man, Jermaine Sutton, had assaulted her, while he accused her of being a liar.

Sutton, who was fidgety throughout the hearing at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court, said he did not hit his wife and the police told her to say that he did. Upon hearing this, the magistrate asked Alexander if this was true and after a lengthy delay and constant questioning, she finally said, “No, sir.”

Her husband maintained that he did not hit her and that he was a set up by the police. The magistrate in turn asked Sutton if he was there when the police conspired with his wife. Sheepishly, he said no. He was then told that his comments were speculation and “borderline ridiculous.” The magistrate said he cannot fathom why a police officer would do such a malicious thing to a man he had never met in his entire life.

Sutton nonetheless maintained his story that the police convinced his wife to tell lies about him. The man’s insistence prompted the magistrate to ask his wife if she was a liar. Again, she had difficulty answering the question and after repeated questioning, again she maintained that she was not the liar.

Asked to recount the assault, Alexander said on November 2, at their Sophia home, she had an exchange with Sutton. Tired of the constant nagging, she said she left the house and when she returned, Sutton was still rowing.

Alexander added that she picked up her baby and started singing to ignore the man. However, this only made Jermaine more irate, she explained, before adding that the man snatched her clothes and started kicking her even though the child was in her hands. He also allegedly hurled insults.

Alexander added that Sutton shoved her out of the house, slammed the door and the baby in the midst of the chaos was hit. The woman said the man also pelted her with a brick.

After hearing her account, the magistrate was even more surprised that Alexander would want the charges withdrawn because she was having financial difficulties. He told her she should be thankful that the baby only had a minor injury because he would hate to imagine the damages that would’ve been cause if the baby had been kicked by a full-fledged adult.

Her appeal to drop the charges was dismissed and the case is to be called again on December 9.