Judge John Payne presiding over Eastern Hampshire District Court
Normally I don't cover the plethora of cases that are adjudicated in Eastern Hamsphire District Court from towns other than Amherst.
Although on any given day I leave the courtroom shaking my head from statement of facts heard in open court concerning incidents that occur in our neighboring towns.
Take Monday for instance. While waiting for Amherst police department arrests over the weekend (4) to be arraigned, I was only half listening to the pre-trial motions, parole violations, magistrate appeals of motor vehicle tickets, etc.
But when Judge Payne changed the tenor of his voice I started paying attention.
Harry Bonatakis, age 60, stands before Judge Payne
The case concerned a plea deal of nine months probation for a 60-year-old man arrested for Assault & Battery on a young woman. Specifically he "massaged her foot" without permission in the parking lot of Big Y in South Hadley. And she had her four year old child in the car at the time.
He had come over to her as she was entering her car and started talking to her initially complimenting her vehicle but grabbing the top of the driver door preventing her from closing it.
Then he asked if she always went barefoot, to which she replied that wearing high heels at work all day caused her feet great discomfort so she took them off.
He then reached down and started massaging her bare foot saying he was a trained message therapist. She called police. He was arrested.
Judge Payne first asked why the Commonwealth was requesting 9 months probation, finding that an "odd number." The Assistant District Attorney said he originally wanted a full year but the public defender wanted six months, so they split the difference.
The public defender admitted to the Judge the incident was a "little bizarre," but chalked it up to his client "getting his signals crossed."
Shaking his head Judge Payne said sternly, "I'm not comfortable with the plea deal. I'm troubled by the facts here: 8:30 at night in a public parking lot. It's more than a little bizarre!"
Judge Payne ordered a Forensic Evaluation saying, "I want to know what's going on and if additional structure is needed for him." The case was continued until October 20.
Almost next up was one of the four Amherst police arrests, but I should have gone back to not paying attention since his case was designated a "56A" (domestic abuse). As such the incident is purged from APD logs and the Clerk Magistrate's office will refuse to give out documents relating to the case.
So all I can tell you is Christopher McMahon was arrested by APD and arraigned before Judge Payne for a 56A allegation. His case too was continued until next month.
Christopher McMahon arraigned before Judge John Payne
16 comments:
The car horn is there for a reason and feet are great for kicking...
She called the police, that's a good response. A lot of women do not immediately default to a physical defense, but she got the job done. Men like to fight, women not so much. Richard Marsh
She didn't show up in court on Monday, but she did provide the Commonwealth with an "victim impact statement."
She shouldn't have continued to carry on the conversation.
She should have said "thank you" to the comment on the car and then something about how her husband was waiting for her to get home with it as he had to go somewhere or do something with it. She had her 4-year-old in the car, she has a husband, right????
I'm not saying what she did was wrong,
only tactically stupid and there is a very big difference between the two.
And that's assuming that she wasn't flirting at all.
This is a he said, she said. And both of them said that no one was hurt. No reasonable legal solution possible.
Tell a few male members of your family and leave the police out of it. The male members of your family, if devoted, will make sure this guy never wants to touch a foot again, assuming they leave him his hands.....
Next case.
Sexist? No.
Men seem to enjoy fighting as far as I can see. Centuries of boxing, martial arts, street fisticuffs, thousands of wars devised by males. Women have come to these only recently, and still in minuscule numbers. RM
I am a man. Have been male all my life. 64 years. Have never liked to fight. But RM, go right ahead and sterotype all of us. I won't fight you on it. lol
"victim blaming bag of dirt" -- that's a new one.
From someone too obtuse (or illiterate) to note the distinction I made between "wrong" and "tactically stupid."
You remind me of a (quite attractive) young lady whom argued that she ought to be able to go into frat houses stark naked because rape was "against the law." So was auto theft, I responded, but do you leave your car unlocked and with the keys in the ignition? Do you leave your purse on the front seat with the windows rolled down?
Now the more I think about this, I really wonder if this meets the criteria of an A&B -- I can think of a LOT of things at UM which should have been pursued if it does.
All he really of is being creepy looking. That ought not be a crime -- and who knows how innocent she was in all of this, a point I was trying not to make.
There's a reason this kind of behavior is illegal, and rightly so. Under no circumstances, however, should we label all those who find women's feet and shoes attractive. It's actually quite a normal and typical "fetish" if you will. Harassment and inappropriate contact of any kind should be condemned. The proclivity, however, should not be.
RM never worked in any Student Affairs position -- hate to tell you, but women like to fight just as much as men, they just do it differently.
Ever seen the movie "Mean Girls"? Or hear of someone named Phoebe Prince?
I think you can the reason we have most of our social problems right here in this thread.
Folks pretending that men are not more inclined to fight than women are simply lacking both observation and processing skills. That they even expect to be taken seriously in a conversation is just silly.
Just because an alternative perspective exists, doesn't mean it carries equal weight or is even remotely true.
Too bad there was not a real man in that parking lot when that weak woman needed one.....because...
Men fight, men defend, next subject.
If a fetish can be considered normal and typical.
Hear Hear
Gee, I never thought of it that way. Men fight. Men defend. Know it alls diagnose the root of society's ills. Women cook. Women clean.
A lot of assumption on your end sir. You need to realize not all details are given. Maybe she did not engage in the conversation. Maybe she tried to get away from him. Maybe she did inform him there was a significant other waiting. And maybe, with having her four year old child in the vehicle, her response was the best it could be in that situation.
A small child in the car. By the picture he looks to be rather big. If you have ever shopped at that store at that time you may know there is not often many people at that time. Maybe she was fearful if she tried to fight he could over power her. it was not about just her but also her child. and maybe her response was the best it could be under those circumstances. Seems to me there may be info missing.
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