Via IntangibleArts @ Flickr.
Anthony Abbate attacked Karoline Obrycka as she worked, and despite the fact that the bar’s security camera captured her assault, and that of at least one other bar patron that day, he gets to walk.
While he could have been sentenced to as much as five years in jail, Judge John Fleming decided against jail because he deemed the attack minor, only resulting in “bumps and bruises,” nor thought it would deter other men from beating the shit out of women they don’t know. Instead, Abbate must observe a curfew, attend anger management classes, and perform community service.
I’ve lived in Chicago, and everyone knows there are plenty of backroom deals being brokered all the time. I can’t be sure that’s the case here, but this really fucking tears it for me. The only hope I have is that Abbate will indeed be canned by the PD, and perhaps take up a profession where battering women isn’t so frowned upon. Like being a judge in Cook County.
We’ve got a new Rule of Thumb, friends. You can beat a woman for whatever reason as long as her physical injuries are limited to bumps and bruises. Fuck you, Anthony Abbate. And fuck you, Judge John Fleming.