Wife records husband’s physical and sexual abuse, files case

A 25-YEAR old mother of two, who alleges to be the victim of continuing spousal abuse, could have an open and shut case against her husband for several charges of wife battering, sexual abuse and marital rape, after she was able to get a voice record of her harrowing experience last January 3, 2009.
“Janine”, not her real name, with the help of well-meaning friends and the Women and Children’s Desk of the Ormoc City Police Office, finally gathered the guts to bring a formal complaint against her husband “John” on January 6, after putting up with several years of alleged abuse. The identities of both parties are being kept in the meantime, to protect the woman victim.

In her affidavit filed before the city prosecutor’s office here, “Janine” said she has been married to John for less than a year only, but they already have two small children. Her husband, John, is a retired member of the US Navy who is now retired because of disability “Janine” said that they had been “living in” since 2004 at John’s condominium in Cebu, and since then has been suffering from physical, mental, verbal and sexual abuse from him. She recalls one time in 2004, when in a fit of jealous rage against an instructor in a gym she was working out, she was brutalized by John. She said that she had her bruises photographed but did not report it to the police as she apparently decided to “forgive” John.

Another instance that she detailed was in 2005, when heavy with their first child, John became jealous of his cousin and vented his ire on her. This happened at the house of John’s grandmother in Ormoc. John’s grandmother, on the other hand, begged her not to tell the police and give him another chance.
The abuse, Janine said, continued. “There are times that he padlocked me inside his condominium unit for me not to be able to get out or ask for help, especially when he got out of the condominium…” aside from verbally abusing her. Compounding her painful plight, she said, was when she discovered that her husband’s divorce from his previous wife in the United States was not yet final when they began living in, saying the dishonesty really hurt her.

Even so, she went with him when they moved to Ormoc in 2007 and got married in civil rites last April, only. The abuse, meanwhile, did not stop.

Janine’s private hell continued until December 25, 2009, last Christmas Day, when the abuse extended to their daughter.

Janine said that John wanted their daughter to kiss him but when she refused, he hit her with a leather belt, causing welts. She also attached pictures of the child’s bruises with her affidavit-complaint.
The next day, December 26, was no better. Forgetting to turn off their computer at around 2:00 in the morning, her husband began raining her with blows and hit her left leg with a monoblock chair. At this point, Janine said she began documenting the abuses, but still didn’t have the firm resolve to file a complaint against John. She still wanted “to give him a chance to change”.

The last straw, apparently, was on January 3, 2010, when after making love to her husband at around 2:30 in the afternoon, he demanded wanted more and do anal sex on her. Her refusal started another bout of violence, all of which she was able to record on her MP4 voice recorder.
Janine also submitted a CD copy of the voice record of what transpired.

Those who heard the CD recording said that it was very graphic and violent. Asked what John’s disability was, one answered “sa ulo” (In the head.).

The prosecutor’s office has already summoned John to answer the allegations, and he is expected to submit his counter-affidavit after ten days.

Meanwhile, Janine is also asking the prosecutor’s office to submit the case to the Court and for the Court to issue a permanent protection order against John, and order the US Veterans Affairs office “to have his financial support legally due for me and for our two children in a separate check”.

Police are hopeful that Janine pursues the complaint, saying that most of the marital abuse cases that reach them are usually “settled”, with the wife forgiving the husband and dropping the complaint. By Lalaine M. Jimenea

Share on Facebook