2011 QCCQ 914, 2011 QCCQ 914

R. c. El Aitki 2011 QCCQ 914 JL-3223 COURT OF QUEBEC CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF CHICOUTIMI Criminal and Penal Division No.: 150-01-026068-099 DATE: January 28, 2011 ______________________________________________________________________ THE HONOURABLE PIERRE LORTIE, J.Q.C., PRESIDING ______________________________________________________________________ HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN Prosecution v. MOHAMED EL AITKI Accused ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT ______________________________________________________________________ ORDER [ 1 ] The Court issued an order pursuant to

section 486.4 of the Criminal Code ( Cr. C .) restricting the publication of information. INTRODUCTION [ 2 ] On October 20, 2010, the accused, who is 38 years old, pleaded guilty to the following offences: 1) Between August 1, 2007, and September 30, 2008, in city A, district of Chicoutimi, did commit assault on J. C., thereby committing the indictable offence set out in

section 266 (

a) of the Criminal Code . 2) Between August 1, 2007, and August 31, 2008, in city A, district of Chicoutimi, did knowingly utter, convey or cause a person to receive a threat to cause death or bodily harm to J. C., thereby committing the indictable offence set out in

section 264.1(1) (a)(2)(

a) of the Criminal Code . 3) Between September 1, 2007, and January 31, 2008, in city A, district of Chicoutimi, did commit assault on J. C. and thereby inflicted on her bodily harm , thereby committing the indictable offence set out in

section 267 (

b) of the Criminal Code . 4) On or about January 21, 2008, in city A, district of Chicoutimi, did commit assault against J. C., when he carried, used or threatened to use a weapon , thereby committing the indictable offence set out in

section 267 (

a) of the Criminal Code . 5) Between September 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009, in city A, district of Chicoutimi, knowing that J. C. was harassed or recklessly as to whether she was harassed, did commit an offence act contemplated in subsection 264(2) of the Criminal Code , with the effect of making her reasonably fear for her safety or the safety of someone known to her, thereby committing the indictable offence set out in section 264(1) (3)(

a) of the Criminal Code. [1] POSITION OF COUNSEL [ 3 ] It should be noted that, under counts 3, 4 and 5, the accused will not be permitted to serve the sentence in the community, given that they involved serious personal injury within the meaning of

section 752 Cr. C . [ 4 ] Emphasizing that this is a serious case of domestic violence, the prosecution proposes that the Court sentence the accused to 18 to 24 months with probation. [ 5 ] For its part, the defence seeks a mixed sentence totalling two years less a day. It asks that the Court impose an intermittent sentence of 90 days on counts 3, 4 and 5 and a conditional sentence on counts 1 and 2. All would be accompanied by community work

and a lengthy probation with serious restrictions. CONTEXT [ 6 ] The defendant, who is of Moroccan origin, has lived legally in Canada since 2002, when he was married to [spouse 1]. This union ended in 2008. [ 7 ] Around 2005, he met the complainant, who already had three children. In 2007, they separated for a period of time, and their relationship ended in 2008.

A child was born of their relationship on ..., 2009.The defendant’s paternity has not been officially acknowledged, however. [ 8 ] In late 2008, the defendant met another woman and lived with her [spouse 3]. [ 9 ] The defendant is trained in business administration. He currently operates a messenger service. [ 10 ] Charges were filed on April 24, 2009, and the defendant remained at large on an undertaking to refrain from contacting the complainant, among other things. The conditions were respected. [ 11 ] The complainant is now 45 years old.

THE ACTS CHARGED [ 12 ] The defendant pleaded guilty to a series of acts committed between August 2007 and March 2009. [ 13 ] The complainant related the events in a written document dated April 14, 2009. This account is appended to this judgment. [ 14 ] To summarize: ▪ On one occasion, the defendant threatened the complainant with a knife and then attacked her. Her arm was cut badly.

At the hospital, she did not reveal the cause of the injury. ▪ The defendant hit the complainant in the stomach while she was pregnant. ▪ He hit her in the face on several occasions. ▪ It sometimes happened for no particular reason. ▪ During certain periods, he would beat the complainant twice a week. ▪ After apologizing, he would do it again. ▪ Her jaw was dislocated three times. ▪ He pulled her hair. ▪ He made threats. ▪ He swore at her and insulted her. ▪ He had attacks of jealousy. ▪ He mentioned how women in his country would be treated (their throat would be cut). ▪ He watched the complainant constantly.

PRE-SENTENCE REPORT [ 15 ] The report is dated January 27, 2011. The probation officer states that the defendant justified his actions, claiming [ translation ] “ an identity crisis associated with a conflict between the values of his country and those encouraged in Canada, combined with alcohol abuse ”. The defendant also explained that the event with the knife was accidental. This statement was denied by the complainant. [ 16 ] The officer noted that the defendant exhibited several characteristics of a violent spouse (possessive and controlling).

In addition, he displayed [ translation ] “ serious inadequacies in controlling his emotions and conflicts and a clearly deficient manner of communicating ”. [ 17 ] In addition, the defendant offered to enter a substance abuse program, which he claimed would solve the problem of violence. The officer felt that this was a partial and long-overdue offer. Moreover, [ translation ] “ Two years after the crimes had been committed, he had made no effort to undertake any therapy ”.

In conclusion: [ translation ] In short, given that these inadequacies still exist and that there is still a substantial introspective process ahead of him, we cannot eliminate the risk of re-offending.

SENTENCING HEARING ON JANUARY 27, 2011 [ 18 ] As mentioned, the account written by the complainant was filed. In addition, the prosecution produced a statement on the consequences of the crime. [2] To summarize: ▪ Insomnia, nightmares, fears, vomiting, feeling of being spied on. ▪ Following the events, the complainant has lost her trust in relationships. ▪ In material terms, besides damaged property, she has lost income.

Fortunately, she has received some compensation through the crime victim compensation system. ▪ This whole situation resulted in her failing school. [ 19 ] The complainant also testified to describe the physical consequences of the assaults. First, she had an operation on her arm to repair several tendons. Second, she has pain in her jaw and right ear. She is still under medical care. [ 20 ] In the submissions, counsel for the prosecution described the general feelings of the complainant: she feels like she is constantly in prison. ⋄ [ 21 ] The defence, for its part, called spouses 1 and 3.

Their testimony can be summarized as follows: ▪ Spouse 1: The defendant is a hard-working and likable man. However, [ translation ] “ he is not nice, he is not pleasant ” when he drinks. She adds: [ translation ] “ l was never hit … When he was drunk, he was verbally aggressive toward me… That would happen very often ”. Otherwise, the separation had been an amicable one, and the two had remained friends. ▪ Spouse 3: The defendant is not a violent person. However, he has a drinking problem. When he drinks, he [ translation ] “ talks trash ".

He still drinks too much and has not yet sought therapy. [ 22 ] Finally, the defendant addressed the Court to express his regrets. ⋄ [ 23 ] At the end of the hearing, the Court postponed the decision until the next day (January 28). In the meantime, he ordered the immediate incarceration of the accused. ANALYSIS AND DECISION [ 24 ] The Court must now consider the various sentencing factors. [ 25 ]

Section 718 Cr. C. sets out the purpose and general principles of sentencing: denunciation, deterrence, separation from society, rehabilitation, reparation for harm done, and the promotion of a sense of responsibility. [ 26 ]

Section 718.1 Cr. C. adds this fundamental principle: that the sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender. [ 27 ]

Section 718.2( a )(ii) specifically identifies offences that constitute abuse of a spouse or partner as aggravating circumstances. [ 28 ] In addition, under

section 718.2( b ), the court must take the principle of parity of sentencing into account, that is, “ a sentence should be similar to sentences imposed on similar offenders for similar offences committed in similar circumstances.” [ 29 ] In addition, Parliament has set out a maximum sentence of ten years for assault with bodily injury, armed assault, and harassment. Under

section 742.1 Cr. C. , the Court may not impose a conditional sentence for an offence causing “ serious bodily harm ” within the meaning of

section 752 Cr. C. They are offences punishable by at least ten years’ imprisonment and involve: ▪ the use of violence against another person. ▪ conduct inflicting serious psychological harm on another person. [ 30 ] These elements reflect the objective gravity of the offences at issue. [ 31 ] The general principles having been outlined, the mitigating and aggravating factors must now be analyzed. MITIGATING FACTORS [ 32 ] The Court identifies the following mitigating factors: 1) The accused has no criminal record. 2) He has acknowledged his guilt, thus sparing the victim a painful trial. 3) He is a hard-working person and holds a steady job.

AGGRAVATING FACTORS [ 33 ] The Court notes the following elements: 1) This is a serious case of domestic violence. 2) Different types of acts were committed on several occasions. 3) The period extends from August 2007 to March 2009. Therefore, this is not an isolated case. 4) The consequences for the victim are serious in every respect (physical and material). 5) The pre-sentence report is unfavourable. It identifies a risk of re-offending. 6) The drinking problem and violence go back several years. Since being arrested in April 2009, the defendant has done nothing concrete (e.g., therapy).

He still drinks alcohol. In short, he is still at the stage of making promises. 7) Although he has no criminal record, the evidence reveals that the defendant was verbally aggressive toward his first spouse between 2002 and 2008. SENTENCING [ 34 ] As mentioned, the prosecution suggests a sentence of 24 months. In this context, the Court could consider a conditional sentence with respect to counts 1 and 2. [ 35 ] In the classic decision in R. v.

Proulx , [3] rendered on January 31, 2000, the Supreme Court stated the following: [114] Where punitive objectives such as denunciation and deterrence are particularly pressing, such as cases in which there are aggravating circumstances, incarceration will generally be the preferable sanction, … [ 36 ] In fact, in cases involving domestic violence, the Quebec Court of Appeal has long emphasized that deterrence and denunciation must be the predominant factors. [4] [ 37 ] Indeed, in R. v.

Lavallee , [5] Wilson J., writing for the Supreme Court, pointed out “ the gravity, indeed, the tragedy of domestic violence .” This statement, although written on May 3, 1990, remains fully relevant today. [ 38 ] For all of these reasons, the Court rejects the defence’s proposal of conditional sentencing. ⋄ [ 39 ] Certain principles are fixed and immutable. They do not vary according to culture or situation. [6] [ 40 ] A woman’s right to safety is recognized internationally. [7] ⋄ [ 41 ] With that in mind, the sentence must now be determined. [ 42 ] The Court has consulted a number of legal authorities.

It generally appears that sentences of three or four years apply in the presence of certain factors, or a combination thereof: prior record of violence, several victims, absence of the mitigating factor of a guilty plea, extreme seriousness of the consequences, etc. [ 43 ] In this case, the defendant has no criminal record. In addition, he has acknowledged his guilt. [ 44 ] Upon analysis, the Court finds that the objectives of denunciation and deterrence will be achieved with a sentence of two years of incarceration. This allows for probation and supervision for a period of five years.

CONCLUSION [ 45 ] FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT : [ 46 ] IMPOSES the following sentences, to be served concurrently: Count 1: 12 months Count 2: 12 months Count 3: 2 years in a penitentiary, starting on this day Count 4: 2 years in a penitentiary, starting on this day Count 5: 2 years in a penitentiary, starting on this day [ 47 ] IMPOSES on the defendant a probation order of three years , the terms of which will be defined upon sentencing.

[ 48 ] PROHIBITS the defendant from having weapons in his possession: ten years under paragraph (

a) and in perpetuity under paragraph (

b) of subsection 109(2) Cr. C. (applicable to counts 3, 4 and 5). [ 49 ] AUTHORIZES the taking of samples of bodily substances for the purpose of forensic DNA analysis pursuant to subsection 487.051(1) Cr.

C. (Form 5.03) (applicable to counts 3 and 4, which constitute super-primary offences). [ 50 ] EXEMPTS the accused from paying of the victim surcharge. __________________________________ PIERRE LORTIE Judge of the Court of Quebec Mtre Mélanie Paré Director of Public Prosecutions Mtre Michel Boudreault For the Defendant Date of hearing: January 27, 2011 SHEDULE [Translation] In May 2007, I left [the accused] because my intuition told me that I shouldn’t trust him, because he kept making promises that he didn’t keep. I thought that, by putting some distance between us, I would forget him.

That was wrong because my heart had chosen him, and I couldn't help myself. I tried to become involved in another relationship, hoping it would help me to forget him, but it didn’t work, I thought only of him. So I left the other guy. Then, [the accused] came back from his home country (his family in Morocco) in August 2007 and contacted me again, and that’s when it all started. We took up our relationship again, but first I told him that I had gone out with someone else while we were apart.

Also, because I thought our relationship was unhealthy because I couldn't ever refuse him anything and he had a way of manipulating me. He asked me to go to camping with him to see a mutual friend of ours, a woman. Throughout the trip, he kept hitting me and calling me all kinds of names, like whore, and saying that I had been unfaithful to him (but I wasn’t going out with the other guy anymore), because my heart belonged to him and that, in his country, women who did that sort of thing had their throat cut.

He hit me in the face, I cried and it hurt a lot, really a lot, so to get away from his blows, I moved onto the back seat, and I was lying down because it really hurt, and I had a hard time breathing. Before reaching the destination, he said, I’m sorry, okay, it’s over, I got rid of my frustration and I won’t do it again, come back and sit in front, wrong, he started to hit me again. I told him to stop the car because I wanted to get out.

I walked a bit, and then he came up with his car and said to me in this authoritarian tone, “[the complainant], get in, I will drive you back, just get in, I said.” So I got in and we took off. Finally, the next Saturday, we went to see our friend, he left me at the trailer with her and went to work and came back that night. We slept in the tent, and again, he hit me and pulled my hair so I would look him in the eyes. In the weeks that followed, from September to January, he would beat me at least twice a week, and sometimes more often than that.

I had bruised eyes, bruises on my arms, he dislocated my jaw three times, broke off part of a tooth, beat me with his hands and feet on my legs and on my back when I was on the ground and begging him to stop. When he beat me during that period, either my three children were with their father or they were sleeping, and I was careful not to yell so I wouldn't wake them up. Often he was drunk, but sometimes he was sober. Most of the time I would go to bed, but I couldn’t sleep, I was afraid, he would come to see me and bother me and then he would go away and sit on the couch and drink and watch really loud movies.

I couldn’t sleep because I was afraid and there was a lot of noise. Sometimes he kept me up until 4 or 5 in the morning, even though I had to work the next day and had to get up at 6 a.m. I wasn’t living any more, I was surviving. I was in my own house, but I wasn’t in control of myself any more. If I disagreed with him or said no to him, he got mad, he would hit me and upset the table in the living room and make everything on it fall off. He made a mess, and I would have to pick it up even though I was tired because I don’t like to stay up late.

He damaged my furniture (broke it or left cigarette burns) and didn’t care. He borrowed my jeep to go fishing, and didn’t take care of it. He would drive while he was drunk and drinking beer, he broke it and I was under his control and couldn’t say no to him. But the day after, he would come up close to me, apologize, and tell me that I was the love of his life and he was sorry, but he would always do it again. He had no ethics, no remorse, he wasn‘t religious, and he couldn’t care less about anything, even the law.

On January 21, 2008, a Friday night, around 11 o’clock, he was drunk, and after fighting about the business of the previous summer when I went out with someone else, he took a carving knife with a sharpened blade from the kitchen and said he wanted to go cut the throat of the guy I had

gone out with, so I tried to reason with him, and he had a knife in his hand and he said "Get out, because I am going to cut your throat, and it all happened fast, he pushed me, I found myself on the floor and I realized that I was bleeding. My left forearm was cut. I went into the bathroom. I wet some cloths with cold water and cleaned it up. Then I looked at the wound and, when I opened up the cut, I realized that nerves, tendons and muscles were cut, and that I had to go to the hospital.

I wanted to go by myself because he was drunk, but he didn’t want me to, and with his authority, he wanted us to go together. He drove, I was afraid. As we drove, he said to me, “What are you going to say? It’s an accident, you fell with the knife in your hand and you cut yourself”. At the hospital, I had no choice but to lie, he was with me. I could see that the doctor didn’t believe me, but I couldn’t say anything. The wound was on my left arm, and I’m left- handed.

What’s more, I had registered for two classes at the University, and I was forced to take notes with my right hand, and I missed half the notes because I wrote so slowly. I failed one of the two classes and I just passed the other one, and that frustrated me, because I am a serious perfectionist and usually get grades above 80%. This was a real blow to my ego, but it couldn’t be helped, because I had missed classes because of my arm and I couldn’t really concentrate because of what I was going through. I was off work until March 2008. When my injury healed, he started to hit me again.

When he talked to me, he would call me a whore, a nothing, say that I was nothing compared to Arab women, that I was a "damned” liberated Québécoise and not a real woman. Afterwards, he would say to me, I love you, you are the love of my life and my heart chose you, I belong to you and you belong to me. I was mentally off balance, I didn’t know what to do anymore. But I loved him, and I was afraid because he would threaten me. And he told me that he didn’t care about the law, that it was a matter of honour in their country. He told me that if I cheated on him, he would kill me.

And if I talked, he would cut my throat. He would be watching me all the time. He would call me to check that I was at home. And after work, I would go do errands, and if I came home late, he would get mad at me and call me all kinds of names, and if he came at night, he would hit me. I couldn't do anything anymore, but fortunately, I have a strong character and I'm pretty stubborn, because I don't know what might have happened to me otherwise. I prayed to God and my grandmother to help me get out of this mess.

He was afraid that I was cheating on him, he was possessive, and during this time (what I now realize, he left chats with girls on the Internet in my computer), he was chatting with girls on the Internet without my realizing it. He was the one who was cheating, and he was accusing me of doing it. He would lie to me so much. And that all continued until June 2008. In June, I found out that I was pregnant, he nearly stopped hitting me, but he would subject me to verbal violence. Like, he would call me and say, “You're sure that I'm the father?” He would tell me that it was the dream of his life.

He would call me, one week he would disown the child, one week he wanted it. He called me a whore, called me all sorts of names. I didn’t want to have an abortion, I am Catholic, and I adore children and it’s against my principles. A couple of times he said he wanted me to have an abortion, other times he didn’t. He tried to destabilize me. I had an amniocentesis, I was in Quebec City for a test of the baby’s heart, because my third has a heart defect. In August, he hit me and hit me in the belly , he was drunk and he said that he was going to cut me open and take the baby out.

He said, “now it’s up to you to make the decision (an abortion) and if you decide to keep it, I’ll be the one in charge of all the decisions, and then he said that at home in his country, women have no rights, not even over the children.” He told me that when the baby was born, it would automatically have Arab Moroccan nationality and that I had no right to the child and he would be the one to decide everything. In September, he came to our house to talk to me, and he took me into the bathroom, because my second child [Y] was there, so he closed the door.

He hit me and he hit me in the belly , and then I gathered my strength, because I wanted to protect the baby I was carrying, so I fought back, and I hit him in the throat and I pushed him up against the door and I told him to get out because his little game was over and otherwise I would call the police. (My son was there) He left. That was the end between us, I had had enough and he had done enough to me. He called me and apologized and said he was sorry about what he had done, and that we had to get back together for the child. He would call me once a week or every two weeks to ask how I was doing.

He asked me to go out for supper so we could talk about the child, and he asked me if I had chosen names and what I was going to call the child. So I told him three names I liked and I told him that the child would have both last names. He had a fit and said, no, you don’t have the right, for us it’s the man who has rights and the woman is nothing and has no say in what happens. I told him what first name I was going to give the baby. One week he would deny it was his child, the next week he wouldn’t.

It was all over as far as I was concerned, and there had been enough about it, and during this time, I bought everything the baby needed, clothes, furniture, everything because my youngest was eleven years old and I didn’t have any of that stuff anymore. He never once gave me anything, never came to the house with something for the baby. He didn’t care that much about it anymore, it was just a pretext to manipulate me again, but it didn’t work anymore, I wasn’t under his influence and the more time passed, the better I saw what was happening.

He told me that I wouldn’t get any support from him, and that I had made this baby just to get that and to get family allowance money. (A kid costs a lot more than that). I didn’t listen any more, I didn’t care about what he said to me. He told me, “You damn independent Quebec woman, you won’t decide. He will have my name because at home, that’s how it works, the woman is nothing and has no voice in what happens, it’s the man who decides.” He threatened me with kidnapping the child and taking it back to his country and I would never see it again.

He told me that his parents want us to marry, because otherwise, they would not accept the child, their first grandchild (he’s the oldest in the family). He told me he didn’t need my authorization for the child, he could do what he wanted, that the laws of Morocco gave him the right to do what he wanted.

I told him that we were in Quebec, and it’s our laws that counted. and he told me, “The hell with the laws here, actually, I don't give a shit about the laws of this lousy, shit country.” He didn’t call as often for a while, then one day, he told me we would go shopping for the bed, we went and there was one on special, he told me, put it on your credit card, I'll pay you back in two weeks. He never said anything about it again. At the end of November, I think, he called me and told me that he had talked to his mother, and his mother had told him that the wife of his brother Adil had had a baby, a boy.

Then, I said to him, “You never told me that your brother was going to have a baby,” and he answered, “I just found out because my mother didn’t want to tell me because she didn’t want to insult me because in our country, it’s the oldest who is supposed to have the first baby.” And he started telling me what the baby was doing and it didn't make any sense. He was lying. And he said “my mother never asks about the baby any more, she has another interest, that’s my brother’s baby.” He told me that his mother was going to send me an e-mail (I never got one).

It was like all the promises they had made to me in the past, and all turned out to be lies. He lied as easily as he breathed. I am sure that his mother never knew anything about it. In December, he called me to go buy the car seat, and we went and he paid for it. A week later, he called me and we chatted, and then I told him I was going to have the baby baptized and that, as a Catholic and my family, I had chosen the godfather and godmother. He had a fit again and said no, I decide, and this child will have no religion, he’ll decide later. I told him that was immoral.

He called me every name in the book, and told me he was going to kidnap the child, and that the child would go back to Morocco and I would never see it again. He also said, “You were nice just so I would pay for the car seat,” and he said he would deny that it was his child and I should pay him back for the car seat. I sent him a cheque through a mutual friend and he called me and I told him to leave me alone and not to call me anymore and that I didn’t want to have anything more to do with him. He told me I will never leave you alone and he threatened me.

He made my life hell during the pregnancy. He worked on my mind, I didn’t know what to think, what to do or how to react, I was overwhelmed, I didn’t sleep, I had insomnia, the doctor had to prescribe pills so I could sleep, I was afraid, I had high blood pressure, and I often worried and thought about the threats he had made to me. So then I called a priest, lawyers, social workers at CAVAC, police, family, friends, to regain some confidence in myself and restore myself and figure out what to do. He had already threatened me with domestic violence.

Now that I had closed my heart to him, I could see clearly and I could reflect, but I am still afraid that he will come, or call, afraid of meeting him, I never leave the house, I stop myself from doing anything. I want security for my four children and myself and for my family too, because he has told me he would go after my family. He is manipulative and doesn’t care about the laws of Quebec, and he already told me that it wouldn’t bother him a bit to do time in prison, because it’s an honour if it’s for good reasons, and that his family would be honoured by it and proud of it.

He drove off in my jeep when he was drunk, and I couldn’t say anything or he would hit me. When I said no to him, he would call me every name in the book, and sometimes he would hit me. He told me I should never refuse him anything, because I loved him. He unbalanced me mentally. He threatened my daughter on the Internet, with my e- mail. I went through hell, believe me. He forced me to call the guy I had gone out with in the summer of 2007 and have him come over, and he called me all sorts of names in front of that guy and hit me in front of him.

He called me on January 19, 2009: evidence: cassette He called me on January 26, 2009: evidence: cassette I have photographs of the injuries when he hit me and when he slashed my arm with a knife. An e-mail: February 2009 An e-mail: threatening my daughter He hit me in front of a co-worker. I declare that everything that I have written is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and I so swear on the Bible. [The complainant] In the summer of 2008, when I was pregnant, [the accused] came to our house, he asked me to go to the store to get some coffee. We had just talked, and he wanted to take control.

So he hit me. My second child was there with a friend. Sensing that the situation was volatile, I told my son come, get in, [the accused] said: No, [Y] you stay there, I won’t hurt your mother. [Y] said: No, I’m staying. Then [the accused] said: [the complainant], make him get out, if you care about the life of your children. So I had my son get out and we went to the store. I was driving.

On the way, he started to call me every name in the book and hit me, I was driving and I said to him, stop that, it hurts and then I tried to attract attention, I braked sharply, I wandered over the road, I sped up suddenly, but it was no use, there were no police on the streets, and virtually no other cars. When we got home, I stayed on the patio with my son and his friend, and when he came to join us, he apologized again, using all his manipulation skills, as usual. That night I prayed to God, I talked to my grandmother and I cried. I had had enough, but I was anticipating his aggressiveness.

I even asked my grandmother to come get me because I couldn’t go on. I didn’t deserve that. To show you how much of a manipulator and liar he is, in 2006, he borrowed $800.00 from me. We were going to go to Morocco in the summer, so he told me that with the money you lent me, I’ll pay your airplane ticket. When summer came, the trip was put off to Christmas. When the holidays came, postponed again to March, April, because he said he couldn’t go then. So instead his parents came. In March-April 2007, postponed again. So I didn’t believe it would happen anymore.

We were supposed to go in the summer and then in early May, he told me he was leaving from July 20, 2007 to August 20, 2007. But I didn’t go, he knew I was working, and that I couldn’t get the time off, we had been supposed to go there in September. At that point, I was going out with him, but I left him after having thought about it, because I didn’t believe him anymore, even though I loved him, my intuition, my rational side told me to stop, because I

was hurting myself. He kept calling me, but I stuck to my guns. He never reimbursed me the $800. Except that in early August, my jeep needed repairs, and since he needed to use it all the time to go fishing, he had it repaired. He asked me often to get it repaired, but I didn’t do it, because he was the one who used it to go out in the woods and didn’t pay attention. I wasn’t stupid. My son was along when he had it repaired, and when they came home, he told me that it cost $800. So in my mind, I told myself that in any case, I had got my money back.

But when I talked to my son after he left, my son, when I told him that at least I got my $800 back from the jeep repairs, he said what, he told you it cost $800? He’s a big liar, it only cost him $350.00. So as I said, he could lie as easily as breathe. He manipulated me often by acting like a sad little dog, saying that he was far from his family, it wasn't easy, and he was a foreigner and not everybody would accept him. But if anybody was a racist, it was him toward Quebecers, and he often said that it was a shitty country and we were worthless, we were stupid, etc.

Often he would say to me that he didn’t care a damn about our laws. Often he would mime to me (because my children were there) that if I did anything, he would cut my throat. He already told me, "One day you will have to leave your house.

Your children are often all at their father’s and I know where he lives." Friday, January 17, 2008 About 11 pm, he was drunk, and after fighting about what happened the summer before, when I went out with a guy, he got up and went to get a very sharp knife with a sharpened blade in the kitchen and said he wanted to cut the throat of the guy I went out with, so I tried to reason with him with words.

He had the knife in his right hand and he told me” “Get out of here, because I am going to cut your throat” and he lifted his arm holding the knife in the air and I, I lifted my left arm to protect myself, and that is when he slashed me with the knife and knocked me down at the same time . I found myself on the floor and that is when I realized that I was bleeding. My left forearm was cut. The whole time, the only thing he said was "shit” and he went to wash off the knife. He didn’t even say he was sorry. He didn’t even bend over to help me up.

I got up myself and I went to the bathroom to disinfect the wound and try to stop the bleeding. I made myself a tourniquet with a towel, and went to clean up the blood on the floor and on the cabinets. I was wearing long-sleeve terrycloth pyjamas. Then I went back to the bathroom to change the towel and I looked at the cut, and when I opened it, I saw that it was very deep and I saw that I had nerves that were cut and/or muscles and/or tendons.

At that point, I knew I had to go to the hospital, and I wanted to go alone, because he was drunk and I wanted to drive, but he wouldn’t let me and with his control and the authority he had over me, he wanted us to go together. He drove and I was afraid. During the drive, he said to me: “What are you going to say? Say it was an accident, you fell with the knife in your hand and cut yourself.” At the hospital, I had no choice but to lie, he was there with me. I saw in the eyes of the emergency room doctor that he didn’t believe me, but I couldn’t say anything. The cut was on my left arm and I am left-handed.

The man does not lead a stable life. In one year, from September 2007 to October 2008, he lived: 1- [city names] room 2- room 3- room 4- rental 5- rental He exercised such power, such authority over me that it was ridiculous. He ordered me around all the time, and when I was slow, he would get mad and call me names and he always talked fancy and about romance, it was manipulation so that I would listen to him. He so much wanted me to live for him and nothing else was important for him, he spoke badly about everyone, my friends at work, so that I wouldn’t get too close to them, he wanted to isolate me.

He didn't want me to say Hi to my neighbour because that wasn’t done in his country and he said why do you say hello and he would say you slept with him and then there was a big fight and he would use violent language with me. He was very manipulative and never did anything without a reason. He used everything to his own advantage. He didn’t respect anything. I will tell you something else to show how he behaved. We often went fishing, and a few times, he borrowed the cottage of the husband of one of his bosses.

But it happened 2 times that when we went fishing, he would go to the back of the cottage and break in, and open the door with a screwdriver, and I said, “You don’t have the right to do that, that’s not right, we don’t do that,” and he would say, screw that. He had no respect for anyone. We would go fishing and meet people and talk with them, and he told them that that “he had a cottage” at such and such a place. He lied all the time because he wanted to show that he wasn’t an asshole.

When I talked to him about it, he said “you have to say that to be seen by everyone from a different perspective.” He did the same thing about work, he said he worked for Transcontinentale either in electronics or in accounting/marketing. And I couldn’t say anything, he forbade me from doing it. At the time, I was working at the same place, and if I had talked, I would have lost my job, and I had three children to feed.

Another thing too, he would say to my eleven-year-old son, often, shut up and go to your room. I would speak to my son the next day to tell him to forget about it. When I told him that my children would always come before him, he would get angry and not accept it. Another thing, when he was living in A, something happened one night. The next day, he called me and he said, “Where were you last night?” I was at home, I was sleeping, I told him.

He said, “I called the house and there was no answer on your cell phone.” I told you, well you didn’t call, certainly, because I would have answered, and wait I will go look on my cell and I had not received any call.

He told me “I was at the hospital and [spouse 1] (his ex-wife) came." So I persisted a little by saying that it was impossible that he called me and then he changed the subject and told me what had happened. “I was watching TV and I went out in the hall to do some laundry and coming back, the door to the next-door neighbour’s apartment was open (he told me that they were kids of about twenty years old and they used and sold drugs) and there was a girl seated near the door and she said to him, “hey, man, what do you think you are doing, looking at me," and he didn't say anything and went back into his apartment.

He told me that the girl went and kicked his door a few times and left. He told me he took a knife and went to the neighbour’s and said to him, “You damn well better tell me where that little shit-ass girl is,” and he cut his own arm and forced the guy to show him were she was, with the knife still in his hand. I told him you were drunk again and he admitted that he had been drinking. Then he went to work and that night, when he went home, he called me and told me that he had been robbed. [8]