'Marine who beat wife unconscious in front of judge after being ordered to pay child support at divorce proceeding gets 15 years behind bars' (video)

Marine who beat wife unconscious in front of judge after being ordered to pay child support at divorce proceeding gets 15 years behind bars

- Paul Gonzalez, 29, flew into a rage in judge's chambers in April 2011
- Left his wife with a broken nose, fractured jaw and concussion
- Judge branded his actions 'an outrage' and gave him maximum penalty

By Lydia Warren

Last updated at 1:10 AM on 4th March 2012





Wife beater: Paul Gonzalez has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for the savage beating of his ex-wife


A former Marine who savagely beat his wife in front of a judge after he was ordered to pay child maintenance at a divorce hearing has received the maximum sentence of 15 years behind bars.

Paul Gonzalez, 29, had to be subdued by a Taser when he flew into a rage at Catherine Scott, who suffered a broken nose, a fractured jaw, concussion and severe bruising to her face.

At the sentencing on Friday, Judge Geoffrey Cohen ignored Gonzalez's apologies, branding his actions in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida hearing 'an outrage'.

'It was in a court of law where people for hundreds of years have been coming to peaceably resolve their disputes where people have an expectation of safety — certainly where your former wife thought she would be safe,' Cohen said.

'You chose it as a place to viciously assault her.'

In February, Gonzalez pleaded 'no contest' to charges of beating his ex-wife in April 2011.

The couple, who married in 2006, had been discussing their divorce when Gonzalez flew into a rage and ran out of the chambers.

He stormed back in, screamed that he was not going to obey orders, grabbed his 23-year-old wife by the neck and began pummeling the side of her face with his closed fists, according to his arrest report.

He knocked her unconscious with the first blow but continued to punch her, and bailiffs had to Taser him twice to subdue him.

Scott, also a former marine, collapsed in a court clerk's arms as a pool of blood slowly formed by the the judge's chair at his chambers.



Victim: Catherine Scott, 23, was left with concussion, a broken nose, a fractured jaw and severe bruising


She was rushed to hospital, where she was kept in intensive care overnight while doctors monitored her for brain trauma.

According to authorities, he became angry when Judge Ronald Rothschild ordered him to pay child support for their two young children, then aged one and three.

'I woke up and I didn't know where I was,' Scott said in an interview after the attack. 'I didn't know where I was. I didn't know what was going on. I had just been hit that hard.'

Scott told the court she had been so badly beaten her children were scared of her.

'I couldn’t even go pick up my children from day care because there were complaints I was frightening the other children,' Scott said, CBS reported.



In court: Gonzalez apologised to his former wife in court. A psychiatric expert for the defense said he suffers from personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and bi-polar disorder


She added that she remains 'constantly on edge' after the beating and abuse that had been going on for years.

'No matter how long Mr. Gonzalez is contained behind bars, I will never feel safe from him,' she told the court.

She added: 'He advised me that he was going to take the children and that I would never see them again, and that it was his plan to make my life a living hell.'

A psychiatric expert for the defense told the judge Gonzalez suffers from personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and bi-polar disorder.

Gonzalez’s sister added that before the beating she had contemplated having her brother committed because he had threatened to kill himself.

Gonzalez spoke to the judge to admit he had failed, and to apologise to his ex-wife.

'I can't deny that it was me April 15 who took these two hands and put them on my former wife,' he said. 'And I know she said she wouldn't accept any apology, but what can I say? I'm sorry.'

He went on: 'I hurt the woman I said I loved and I am sorry and I hope that one day she does forgive me. I disappointed her. I was not a good husband. I wasn’t a good best friend.

'I destroyed any chance I had of ever doing what it was that I’ve always wanted to do — and that’s be a father, have a family and a loving wife. Be a loving husband.'

Ignoring the defense's plea for the minimum term of four years and three months, Judge Cohen handed Gonzalez a 15-year jail sentence and apologized to Scott.

He asked why a family court judge had denied her a restraining order prior to the beating and why there had not been an armed sheriff’s deputy present during the contentious divorce hearing.

'Under very emotional circumstances the fact that there was no security in place, frankly, is inexcusable,' Judge Cohen said, according to NBC.

But Gonzalez's attorney said he fears his client will not get the help he needs in prison.

'He’s a young man who has some serious mental health illnesses that need to be addressed and by sentencing him to the maximum sentence surely will not help that,' said attorney Dawn Swickle.

Following the attack, Scott's lawyer Michael Dunleavy told the Florida Sun-Sentinel the alleged attack was 'surreal'.

He said: 'He was punching with a true vengeance. It was vicious. He was in a rage.'

So you gotta look at OJ's situation. He's paying $25,000 a month in alimony, got a another man driving around in his car and fucking his wife in a house he's still paying the mortgage on. Now I'm not saying he should have killed her... but I understand.

You know what they say, "There's no reason to ever hit a woman." Shit! There's a reason to hit everybody. You just don't do it. Shit, there's a reason to kick an old man down a flight of stairs. You just don't do it. Ain't nobody above an ass-whooping.

Alan Smithee wrote:I'd like to know the rest of the story as to why this guy lost it. Even if he found out his wife screwed around behind his back and he's being made to pay child support for kids that aren' his, that's no excuse. I understand but it's no excuse. As Chris Rock said:

Alan Smithee wrote:I'd like to know the rest of the story as to why this guy lost it. Even if he found out his wife screwed around behind his back and he's being made to pay child support for kids that aren' his, that's no excuse. I understand but it's no excuse. As Chris Rock said: