A Broward man accused of viciously beating his ex-wife in front of a judge during a divorce hearing pleaded no contest to battery charges Monday.
Paul Henry Gonzalez, 29, wept as he entered the plea in a Broward courtroom. He's scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 22.
Gonzalez has been behind bars since he was charged with aggravated battery and resisting an officer without violence in the April 15, 2011 attack on wife Catherine Scott.
The two had been in the chamber of a Broward County judge when police say Gonzalez became irate and attacked her, leaving Scott beaten and bloody with a broken nose, fractured jaw and concussion.
Gonzalez was ordered behind bars on $1 million bond. During bond hearing testimony, Scott said she feared for her life and claimed Gonzalez had abused her and sent her threatening text messages.
"He has pushed me, shoved me into walls, hit me, dragged me," Scott said during the June hearing.
Gonzalez's sister testified too, saying her brother, a former Marine, is a good man and a father and that his actions in April were out of character.
