A man who filmed his ex-girlfriend as he made her walk down a New York City street naked, while shouting at her, has been jailed for two to seven years.
Twenty-six-year-old Jasson Melo was convicted of coercion, assault, menacing, aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child, Buzzfeed reports.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R Vance said: "In this egregious case of domestic violence, Jasson Melo repeatedly assaulted the mother of his two-month-old child, forced her to walk outside in January naked, filmed his act of utter humiliation, and then disseminated it in a manner that caused it to go viral.
"It is my hope that anyone who is suffering from domestic violence and abuse knows that there is help available."
The incident, which happened in January 2016, saw Melo entering the property he shared with the unnamed woman and their two-month-old daughter, at 5am after a night out and started arguing with her about messages she'd been sent by another man. She later told authorities the relationship was over and she was moving out.
Melo then began repeatedly hitting the victim, prosecutors said. The woman was hit in the face, punched in the ribs and stomach and threatened with being thrown down the stairs.
At 8am, Melo then forced the woman to leave the apartment wearing only a towel, which he pulled away, while he berated her by calling her a 'whore' and filmed the incident. He later shared the video on social media.
The victim told police Melo threatened to kill her if she refused.
The woman said she had to move after the clip went viral, as she was worried for the safety of both her and her child.
While testifying in court, she said: "I felt mortified. It was horrible. I felt so embarrassed."
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In a statement heard by the court, the woman said: "My days are consumed with embarrassment, fear and paranoia for my daughter and I.
"Mr. Melo destroyed me in so many ways, and didn't stop as he would continuously taunt me as if my nightmare was his sick joke.
"These past two years have been consumed with countless sleepless nights, waking up crying, terrified and reliving the events over and over again. I used to ask myself 'when will this emotional turmoil end?' That question remains."
Melo later tried to sell merchandise based on the video, including t shirt and caps with his 'quotes' from the incident.
The judge handed Melo the maximum sentence - two to seven years, with Justice Robert Mandelbaum saying: "Jasson Melo's view of women belongs to the Dark Ages. To him, women are property."
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Source: Buzzfeed; New York Daily Post
Featured Image Credit: YouTube