PHILIPSBURG--It will be community service, conditional prison time, and mandatory attendance to the Probation Office’s “Safe Homes” training for a man convicted of relational violence by the Court of First Instance on Wednesday.
Duhaney Unjay Simms (34) was sentenced by the judge to two weeks of conditional imprisonment with a probation of three years, with 30 hours of community service.
He will be placed under the supervision of the Probation Office, and must comply with the “Safe Homes” training, an anti-violence/aggression training conducted by Foundation Judicial Institutes St. Maarten SJIS.
This training focuses on changing behaviour that triggers relational violence by equipping people with anger management techniques.
The training was requested by the Prosecutor’s Office in St. Maarten as part of the demand based on the behaviour of the now convicted abuser who assaulted his wife in March 2021, threw stones at her, and destroyed her telephone.
At one point during the incident, the woman had to hide herself in a ditch and cover herself with grass to escape the abuse.
The couple has children together, another reason for the mandatory training, the Prosecutor’s Office stated.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the prosecutor called for one week suspended and 60 hours of community service, with Parole Board guidance, including Safe Homes training.
The Prosecutor’s Office takes relational violence cases very seriously, it said in a press statement after the verdict. “This is not only due to the physical and/or psychological violence perpetrated against a victim, but [also due – Ed.] to the disruption and impact it has on the wider family and other individuals, and on the general feeling of safety in the community.”
