A 25-year-old man from Hoorn has been sentenced by the police judge in Alkmaar to a conditional community service of 40 hours. He is being punished for assaulting his mother last October after an argument over dirty laundry got out of hand.
A family feud was discussed in the Alkmaar court on Tuesday afternoon, which got out of hand on October 2 last year. The mother suffered a wound above her eyebrow during a struggle with her son. “When I read all this, it makes me a little sad,” the prosecutor said to the suspect at one point. “How do you go from discussing dirty laundry to this room?”
The family had been known to the police for some time because of mutual problems. At least six previous incidents have occurred in recent years. On October 2 last year things went wrong again. The reason for the argument between mother and son was about washing the clothes. “That had not gone well several times, three or four times already. It was a structural problem.”
Grabbed, pushed and hit
When the son said something about it again, he was ignored by his mother, who was sewing at the sewing machine. The son took the clothes away, after which his mother flew at him. ‘A struggle’ ensued that lasted several minutes, during which the son allegedly grabbed his mother, pushed her to the ground and hit her. In addition, a fall against the door frame caused a head injury. “I don’t know how that wound got there.”
The son – who suffered scratches on his neck – denied intent in court. “I did grab her during the argument and maybe push her away. But I never consciously hit her or anything. That didn’t happen.” The father came between the fighting cocks and gave his son another blow when officers had already arrived in Hoorn.
One month restraining order
The mother did not want to press charges against her son, but wanted peace in the house. A one-month restraining order for the son followed. During that period, the son stayed with friends, in his car or sometimes in a hotel, he said. He refused contact with the probation service. “I felt that I had already been convicted in advance because of the restraining order.” The suspect lives at home again after the cooling-off period and indicated in Alkmaar that the relationship with his parents is now better. “We have made agreements. If we are angry, we will separate for a while.”
The public prosecutor demanded 40 hours of community service, the Horinees’ lawyer wanted his client to be acquitted. The judge imposed a conditional community service order, partly because the situation at home has improved in recent months and the suspect has a job. She did give some urgent advice: “Make sure those arguments don’t get out of hand. You solve arguments with words, not with violence.”