After admitting he had attacked and choked his girlfriend five months ago, Mark Cloutier told a judge he will follow court orders because he wants to take care of his wife, who has a debilitating disease.
The 48-year-old man pleaded guilty Friday to four offences involving the other woman that occurred in Sault Ste. Marie in June.
He was convicted of assault, choking, and threatening death on June 14, and a further charge of breaching an undertaking on June 30.
Ontario Court Justice John Condon heard city police were called to a Pine Street residence at 7 p.m.
Officers were responding to information from a woman, who had received a text message from her daughter that her "boyfriend had beat her up."
When officers arrived, they spotted Cloutier leaving and then re-entering the apartment.
They found the crying victim with scratches on her arm and marks on her neck, prosecutor David Didiodato said.
The woman said the pair had been in a relationship since 2022.
Cloutier had become upset, started screaming at her, slapped her, and prevented her from leaving.
"He said he would kill her," and the woman sent the text message to her mother, the court heard.
The accused was arrested, and then released on a court order, which prohibited him from having any contact with the victim or her mother.
Shortly after 10 a.m. on June 30, city police officers were dispatched to the Pine Street apartment regarding a woman who had been screaming for about 20 minutes.
The accused was located in a bedroom with the victim, the assistant Crown attorney said.
Cloutier has a "relatively dated record" that began in 2006 with an impaired driving conviction, and includes frauds, personation, failing to attend court and theft.
The last conviction was registered in 2018, Didiodato said.
The Crown and defence lawyer Naomi Sayers jointly recommended a sentence of time already served plus three years probation.
With the 1.5 day credit Cloutier received for each day he has spent in pre-sentence custody, it is the equivalent of a six-month jail term.
Sayers told the court there were triable issues and collateral circumstances involving her client's wife.
She's being moved to a home in Chapleau and "he's looking forward to taking care" of her.
The judge asked Cloutier, who was appearing in the Sault courtroom, via a video hookup from the Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene, where his wife was in June.
He responded that she was in the Sault with him.
When he imposed the sentence, Condon said he was taking into consideration the pleas of guilt which he considers a sign of remorse.
These are acts of violence against a domestic partner, he said, also noting Cloutier's wife was here at the time.
During his probation, Cloutier can have no contact with the victim or her mother and must remain 100 metres away from them.
As well, he must take any recommended assessment, counselling and rehabilitative programs for domestic violence, including the Partner Assault Response program.
Condon also prohibited him from possessing weapons for the rest of his life and ordered him to provide a DNA sample for analysis.
Cloutier assured the judge he will comply because he will be taking care of his wife.
That's "a better idea than what you were doing in June," Condon told him.