Man gets four months in jail for abuse
By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer POSTED: December 6, 2009

WAILUKU - A four-month jail term was ordered Thursday for a Makawao man who acknowledged his wrongdoing for abusing his girlfriend while their children yelled for him to stop.

"It's about time," 2nd Circuit Judge Richard Bissen told Jonathan Lacio. "Whether you understood it at the time or not, you seem to get it now. You're 33 years old - old enough to know right from wrong."

Lacio had pleaded no contest to felony abuse by strangulation of the woman and second-degree terroristic threatening.

The charges were based on reports that Lacio punched the woman and grabbed her throat, making it difficult for her to breathe, after they argued when she tried to end their relationship June 4 at their residence.

All three of their children were in the couple's bedroom, watching what was happening, police reported.

"The children were yelling for their father to stop," said Deputy Prosecutor Mark Simonds.

He said one child said, "Daddy, please stop. Jesus is watching."

"No young child should have to witness their father straddling their mother with his hands on her throat, attempting to stop her breathing," Simonds said. "These are egregious facts."

Both Simonds and Deputy Public Defender Jim Rouse recommended the four-month jail term as part of five years' probation for Lacio.

Rouse said Lacio took responsibility for what he did, saying that whether or not he choked the woman, "my behavior was out of bounds."

"There was no visible injury whatsoever," Rouse said.

Bissen said he was following the attorneys' recommendations in sentencing Lacio after reading a "candid letter" from the defendant.

"You acknowledge that up until now it's been 'me, me, me,' " Bissen told Lacio. "You call yourself selfish and you acknowledge that you caused suffering to other people."

Lacio's criminal history includes 22 arrests and 10 convictions, Bissen said.

But to his credit, Lacio had completed a domestic violence program and methadone treatment, Bissen said.

"Everyone wishes you the best," the judge said. "Go ahead and prove it."

Lacio was ordered to participate in domestic violence classes.