A woman was charged with “controlling behavior,” an offense punishable by law in England, for allegedly nagging her bodybuilder husband to do more housework and spend less time at the gym.
Valerie Sanders was scheduled for trial in court last Tuesday, June 25, but the case against her was thrown out moments before a jury was sworn in, as per The Sun on June 26.
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The case was dropped after 14 months of “hell,” because a key witness decided to no longer support the prosecution.
“It’s outrageous this ever got to court,” Mrs. Sanders was quoted as saying.
Her husband Michael said he was “not sure if she should have gone to court or not” as it was not his decision, but claims she was controlling and “constantly on him.”
As per report, Mrs. Sanders’ trouble with the law began in April 2018, when staff of JobCentre — a state agency in charge of employment in United Kingdom — did an inspection of her husband’s workplace.
During the inspection, staff of the agency noticed her husband’s mood had changed for the worse. He cited his life with his wife at home as the reason behind it.
The staff then tipped the police off about the situation. Responding to the tip, authorities arrived at the Sanders residence in North Yorkshire, England and arrested Mrs. Sanders for “controlling behavior.”
“I was taken to the station and locked in a cell. I’ve never been in trouble. I was horrified. I felt like a criminal,” she said in the report.
She denied the charges, clarifying that she had only left notes for her spouse to do housework, such as “vacuum parts of the house and clean the patio doors.”
“Surely it isn’t controlling [behavior] otherwise every married couple would be in court?” Mrs. Sanders added.
Her not guilty plea was accepted in exchange for a two-year restraining order from her husband. The married couple is currently in the process of getting a divorce. Ryan Arcadio/JB
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