PAX Centurion - January / February 2014

Page 16 • PAX CENTURION • January/February 2014 617-989-BPPA (2772) HEARD ON THE HILL By James Barry, BPPA Legislative Agent Outrage in domestic shootout C arlos Henriquez, a Boston Democrat, was found guilty on by a Cambridge District Court jury of two assault and battery charges. He was acquitted of a third assault and battery charge, aswell as larceny andwitness intimidation charges. Henriquez was never charged with the more serious crime of kidnapping. The former state rep. allegedly became angry upon learning that his girlfriend Katherine Gonzalves would not leave her home with him after he drove to Arlington at around 3 a.m.. Rep. Henriquez got so upset allegedly struck her in the face, the chest and grabbed her by the throat before driv- ing off with her in the back seat. She ran from the vehicle in Boston, near Northeastern University shoeless. “When he suddenly was not going to get what he want- ed from his trip out there, he flipped,” Middlesex prosecu- tor Clarence Brown told the six jurors and two alternates at Cambridge District Court dur- ing the closing statements. He said, “What must have been go- ing through Carlos Henriquez’s mind that night; when he snapped and backhanded Katherine Gonzalves his life changed. He was an elected official, and he had just physically assaulted a 23-year-old girl that he had been having a sexual relationship with for months. I am a father of three daughters who I taught to standup and fight for themselves. What a read about the actions that night and the aftermath I found very disturbing. Carlos Henriquez, was a two-term elected state representative. Not only was a public trust was placed in Mr. Henriquez by his election to the Massachusetts House of Represenatives. A private trust was also placed inCarloswhen hewas engaged in an intimate relationship with his girlfriend, Ms. Gonzalves. What followed after his convictionwas both sadandoutrageous. Sad and outrageous, that a woman who said No, wasn’t respected by Carlos and had her trust in him destroyed. A woman that said NO, has her character impugned and assaulted by Carlos and his supporters! A woman who said NO, was lost to many in the community. A woman who said NO was forgotten there and she is a 23-year-old female victim of do- mestic assault. InCarlos’world… it was the woman’s fault. (I’m not sure how you rationalize that). It was the jury’s fault. (Nor that). It was those in the news media that devalued him. He was dis- carded by people of his own community. Hewas the “victim” here. Why couldn’t everyone just see? The sick part is many who you’d think would be with the vic- tim (should be with the victim) are rallying to the side of Carlos Henriquez. There is a 23-year-old female victim of domestic violence named Katherine Gonzalves. I wish we’d see the same kind of outrage and rally for her. We have a very long way to go in this society if this is our standard for victims of domestic assault. Henriquez did not speak during his trial, or before his sentenc- ing, and he did not answer specific questions fromtheEthicsCom- mittee about his version of the events from the July 2012 evening. But the truth was heard and Carlos was convicted on two out of five counts of stemming from domestic assault crimes.