On May 7, the District Court of Berettyóújfalu announced a decision in the case of a man who harassed his ex-partner and pushed a cat against a wall.
The prosecutor’s office indicted the man back in late 2018 for harassment and other crimes. In the indictment for the execution of the sentence, the prosecutor’s office proposed that the district court impose a sub-average custodial sentence or imprisonment on the accused, based on the content of the documents, and suspend its execution.
The accused with no criminal record – in January 2019 – requested a hearing on his case within the legal deadline, in view of which the court held a preparatory hearing.
At that time, the man did not make an affidavit or waive his right to a trial, so the district court scheduled a hearing on the matter.
Following the evidentiary proceedings, the Berettyóújfalu District Court pronounced a verdict on 7 May 2021 and found the accused guilty of a crime of harassment and torture of animals. He was therefore sentenced to 10 months in prison as a custodial sentence, the execution of which was suspended for a probation period of 2 years.
A child was born in the summer of 2015 from the cohabiting relationship between the accused and the victim. The relationship of the parents was broken after a short time, the woman moved back to her parents’ house in a small town in Hajdú-Bihar. The District Court of Berettyóújfalu ruled on the father’s right of access in 2016 but ruled that the child could not be taken away from the woman’s place of residence.
The man appeared in September 2016 at the victim’s residence, where he began arguing with the woman. The quarrel escalated to the point where the defendant went out into the yard, where he grabbed a kitten, which was a few months old, and then angrily slammed the animal against the wall. The cat died during the incident.
In late March 2017, the man showed up at his former partner’s residence to meet the child. There was a hassle between the accused and the woman, and then during the quarrel the man said he would kill her, beat his family and set the house on them. The victim filed a private motion for harassment a few days later.
The court’s decision was noted by the prosecution, while the accused and his counsel filed an appeal for acquittal. The case continues at the Debrecen General Court.
Debrecen General Court
pixabay
