Mugshot of Eliseo Huerta. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — A man is in custody facing domestic violence assault charges for reportedly burning his wife with a hot iron during an anniversary vacation in St. Thomas.
According to court documents, last Friday, police were alerted of a potential burn victim at the Schneider Regional Medical Center. Responding officers met a woman who admitted that she had been burned during an argument. However, she was reluctant to tell them who had injured her. The officers learned that she had been visiting St. Thomas with her husband, 43-year-old Eliseo Huerta. This was apparently not the first time that the 23-year-old had been assaulted during her year of marriage to the much older man.
The woman eventually confided in a sergeant from the VIPD Domestic Violence and Special Victims Unit. She told the officer that the couple was on island for their one-year anniversary celebration, and staying in a villa at the Sapphire Resort. He was doing some ironing, and “fussing,” according to the police report. The woman said she had turned away from her husband because she was trying to avoid an argument, when he took the hot iron and pressed it against her buttocks, holding it there until it burned her flesh.
When she pointed out her injury, Huerta reportedly responded by pushing and punching her about the body. In speaking to police, the woman blamed herself for the assault, telling them that she was not listening when her husband was speaking. She noted that Huerta, approximately two decades older than his wife, was the breadwinner of the household. She also admitted that she was reluctant to report the assault because of her fear of reprisals when they got back to the mainland. The woman disclosed that she did not have any supportive family members to which she could turn for help.
Police took note of her injuries; the large burn on her left buttock, bruising on her knees and back, and a small laceration near her left eye and on her left pinky toe.
By the time officers brought the woman back to her villa, Huerta had cleared the unit of his belongings and was nowhere to be found.
Customs and Border Protection officials intercepted Huerta on Monday afternoon at the Cyril E. King Airport. He was detained and transported to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, where he declined to provide a statement. He was then arrested and charged with third-degree assault and simple assault as crimes of domestic violence, along with possessing a dangerous weapon during a crime of violence and disturbance of the peace. He was remanded into custody to await his first court appearance.
Court records indicate that Huerta’s advice of rights hearing was held on Tuesday morning before Magistrate Julie Smith Todman, however there is no publicly available indication of bail requirements and condition.
Advertisements
