Seymour Man Gets 33 Months For Assaulting Girlfriend

FILEA Seymour man behind bars since a violent assault on his girlfriend last New Year’s Eve was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Tuesday (Jan. 28) at Superior Court in Milford.

Leonard Charbonneau, 28, formerly of DeForest Street, had pleaded guilty in November under the Alford doctrine before Judge Frank Iannotti to charges of second-degree strangulation and first-degree unlawful restraint.

Under Alford, a defendant does not admit all of the allegations he or she is charged with, but concedes that a conviction is likely if the case went to trial.

Background

Charbonneau was arrested by Seymour police in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2013, after Charbonneau’s girlfriend called police to report the incident.

According to a police report in the case written by Officer Jonathan Martin, the girlfriend told cops she and Charbonneau had been at another friend’s house earlier in the night and that Charbonneau had been drinking heavily, after which he got into an argument with a girl.

She said Charbonneau was angry that she didn’t defend him during the argument, and that when the two got back to his apartment building, he slapped her, pulled her by the hair into the building, snapped her cell phone in half so she couldn’t call police, and prevented her from leaving the residence.

She said Charbonneau hit her again, ​“to the point that I blacked out,” after which he got on top of her and ​“began choking me to the point that I couldn’t breathe.”

She said Charbonneau threatened to beat her more but ultimately fell asleep, allowing her to escape the apartment and call 911.

Police observed redness and scratch marks on the woman’s neck and hands, and a cut to her lip, which was swollen. She declined medical attention.

Police then went inside Charbonneau’s apartment to confront him, according to Martin’s report. After waking him up, the report says Charbonneau cursed at them and also directed a racial slur at Martin.

33 Months

Police initially charged Charbonneau with a laundry list of crimes including second-degree kidnapping, and he seemed prepared to take the case to trial before deciding to accept a plea offer from the judge in November that called for him to face up to five years behind bars on the unlawful restraint and strangulation charges.

Charbonneau’s lawyer, Public Defender David Egan, was given the right to argue for lesser prison time.

Prosecutor Charles Stango asked Judge Iannotti to hand down a three-year sentence in the case, who said the New Year’s Eve assault was ​“the latest in a series of unfortunate incidents” between Charbonneau and the woman, calling the pair’s relationship ​“violent and abusive.”

“Hopefully (the prison sentence) will end this, and Mr. Charbonneau will serve his time, get out and become a productive member of society,” Stango said in court.

Egan said Charbonneau is ​“insistent” the New Year’s Eve was an isolated incident, but conceded his client had a well-documented history of alcohol abuse.

“I’m sure that these two were not a couple of lovebirds,” Egan told the judge, adding that a three-year jail sentence wouldn’t be ​“out of line.”

Charbonneau said he was sorry when the judge asked him if he had anything to say.

“I’d just like to apologize to the victim for the incident that happened,” he said, blaming it on his alcohol problem. ​“That’s about it.”

Judge Iannotti said a pre-sentence report on Charbonneau prepared by a probation official gave him some insight into what led Charbonneau to his courtrooom Monday.

“What seems to stand out … he really seems to be a young man who’s never really had any direction or guidance in his life,” Judge Iannotti said.

Though the judge said that was no excuse for Charbonneau’s behavior, he told him to try to get his life back together while incarcerated.

“Hopefully you can get some insight into yourself as a person,” the judge said as Charbonneau nodded in agreement.

The judge then sentenced Charbonneau to a five-year prison term to be suspended after he serves 33 months, to be followed by three years of probation.

While on probation, he ordered Charbonneau to undergo domestic violence counseling, substance abuse and mental health evaluation and treatment, and barred him from possessing any weapons or drugs.

The judge also issued a protective order in the case prohibiting Charbonneau from contacting his ex-girlfriend until 2064.

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