Senior Parish Judge at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, Lori-Ann Cole-Montague, briefly remanded a man accused of assaulting his partner, the mother of his child, after he was seen laughing during sentencing on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
The accused, Andre Edwards, also charged with malicious destruction of property, was about to learn his fate when it was brought out in court that the couple had had another altercation on Monday, October 31.
The Judge addressing the accused said, “Weh you a argue ’bout sir? Because let me tell you where my judicial mind is, my mind is to lock you up. Me nuh like when people pick on the weaker ones, enuh, me need fi send you somewhere weh the competition fair, where other six-foot man deh.”
Hearing the Judge speaking Patois, Edwards started laughing, which seemed to have angered the Judge.
“Why are you laughing? I don’t know what is so amusing to you,” she said.
The Judge gave the accused time to tell his side of the story, and the accused clearly came off as a chauvinist.
With her daughter in hand, the complainant explained to the Judge that she was “tired” of constant arguing and disrespect. Then, with tears streaming down her face, she detailed how Edwards would belittle her, accuse her of cheating, demand that she leave his house, and he would often comment on having another woman.
Addressing the accused, the Judge said: “As you are talking just now, I am just looking at the innocence and beauty of this child, in the midst of this. You know that children pull from you? Sometimes we don’t think babies understand, babies can be very intuitive creatures, you know,” Cole-Montague said.
“This is the mother of your child… it’s hard to have respect for a man who degrades women in a particular way,” the Judge stated.
The complainant responded, “Judge, we can’t stop arguing. I told him, even if we don’t want each other, we don’t affi a trace.”
The Judge reprimanded both parties for using abusive language in the child’s presence and said this:
“both of you need to clean up your language. Do not be surprised when she starts going to school and a caregiver tells her, ‘don’t do that and she go say to them ‘move yuh whats-it-whats-it-not.’ Do not be surprised, you know why; she would have heard it from home. Stop it both of you. You cannot be so irresponsible in how you talk to each other.”
Edwards was once again seen laughing, which seemed to further anger the Judge, who ordered that he be taken into custody.
He was held for approximately two hours before he was brought back to the courtroom
It was brought out in court that both parties were in counseling. Cole-Montague ordered further counseling for the couple. Sentencing was put off to gauge their responses to counseling. Both parties are to return to court on February 2, 2023