A judge had strong words for a Revelstoke man who pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend in court last week.
Darcey J. Batycki was sentenced to one-year probation after pleading to guilty to beating up his girlfriend while drunk on July 2.
"I'm going to go with the Crown's submission. I assumed the Crown would be asking for you to do six months in custody and I wasn't going to have a lot of difficulty with that, frankly," Justice Mayland McKimm told Batycki during sentencing. "The Crown is taking an enlightened view. I have a problem with people who beat up their girlfriends."
The incident took place on July 2 when, according to Crown prosecutor Bill Hilderman, an argument erupted between Batycki and his girlfriend.
The argument escalated to the point where Batycki grabbed her by the throat and squeezed until she had trouble breathing. He threw her to the ground and when she tried to leave, he slapped her across the face twice.
He continued to yell at her and slammed her hand in a door as she tried to leave.
The victim escaped to the women's shelter and the assault was reported to the RCMP. The following day she asked to have the charges dropped, but the RCMP had already begun investigating.
Batycki told the court he didn't remember the incident.
"Why did you think you could do it?" McKimm asked him.
"I feel horrible about it," Batycki replied.
"I guess I'm more concerned with where people get the attitude. They look in the mirror and say, 'I have a girlfriend and I get to punch them out,'" said McKimm. "Do you see yourself like that?"
"I don't want to see myself like that," replied Batycki. "It's the stupidest thing I've done in my life."
McKimm noted the victim tried to have the charges dropped, and there was talk of having a no-contact order lifted as well. He said the victim was caught in a cycle of violence.
"She wants to forgive you so she can get some more,” said McKimm. “She's now feeling remorseful and she's in a cycle of violence that you created."
He continued to lecture Batycki.
"This is an attitude question. It's more than just a criminal question. You want to go at it with one of your buddies, they're as likely to punch you out as you are to punch him out. Society can put up with a little bit of that," said McKimm. "When you go after a female partner it's a different dynamic that's at work. She's involved psychologically, emotionally. She's in a relationship of dependence on you. There's so many things going on, you need to start to understand fundamentally."
McKimm said he would have no problem sending Batycki to prison, but he sided with the Crown's position on sentencing, which was for 12 months probation, with conditions that included a no-contact order, counselling and 40 hours of community service.
"I think what you did is truly as bad as what I'll hear today," said McKimm. "While I think the principles of general and specific deterrence would be better served by putting you in jail, I think the Crown's position is one that respects your youth, your guilty plea — the fact more is gained by education than by retribution."