A Palm Springs woman who tried to cut off her husband’s
penis has been sentenced to probation and community service. She will
not serve time in jail.
Virginia Valdez, 72, pleaded guilty to one count of
assault with a deadly weapon stemming from the 2011 attack on her
husband, Cesar Valdez.
The couple had been married for 32 years in 2011 but had begun divorce proceedings.
Cesar claims Virginia called him to their former home and
lured him into their bedroom, where she attacked him for no reason,
reports ABC 7.
Virginia tried to cut off Cesar’s penis with heavy duty scissors.
Attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing Cesar, made a show of the scissors outside the courthouse.
"This is what was used on his penis," Allred said while
holding the pair of scissors. "There was a lot of blood coming out of
his penis as a result of her attack on him."
Virginia was sentenced to three years of probation and 420 hours of community service, reports Inquisitr.
Cesar believes a double standard has occurred and if he
were a woman, the punishment against his spouse would have been greater
for domestic violence.
"I am here in front of you today to emphasize that male
spouses can also be victims of domestic violence, but in some cases, men
are afraid to talk for fear of ridicule or for fear of being labeled as
some sort of freak or a wimp," Cesar said in his first public speech.
“There is no doubt in my mind that had I been the
aggressor and not the victim my case would have been heard much sooner,"
Cesar added.
Allred addressed the double standard.
"He feels that if he had been a woman victim of domestic
violence that the case would not have been permitted to be delayed for
so long and that the punishment for Virginia would have been harsher,"
Allred said.
Virginia was charged with inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, a felony, but the charge was dismissed during sentencing.
A plea deal was made in December that stated Virginia
would not serve any jail time. Had she been convicted on felony charges,
she could have served up to nine years in prison.
The criminal case is over but there is pending civil litigation between Virginia and Cesar — they are both suing each other.
0 comments :
Post a Comment