Rachael Ostovich’s ex-husband Arnold Berdon sentenced to four years probation in domestic assault case

MMAfighting.com

UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich’s ex-husband Arnold Berdon has been sentenced to four years of probation for his involvement in a November 2018 domestic violence case, per the Associated Press.

The verdict was handed down in a Honolulu court Thursday. Berdon previously pleaded no conteston March 14 to second-degree assault charge, which is considered a conviction. However, the charge is considerably different from the attempted murder charge for which Berdon, also a professional MMA fighter, was initially arrested on Nov. 20, 2018, after allegations arose that Berdon violently assaulted Ostovich and had abused her in the past.

Ostovich testified in court on Thursday, saying “I do have the power to move forward, walking in forgiveness and I have.” She did not ask for additional jail time outside of the two days Berdon served, according to Berdon’s defense attorney Myles Breiner.

Deputy Honolulu prosecuting attorney Robert Rawson was seeking a five-year prison sentence for Berdon.

“This wasn’t a single act, it wasn’t a single punch,” Rawson said. “This was a sustained brutal assault. For nearly 10 minutes, the defendant assaulted the victim while she begged for him to stop.” Portions of the alleged incident had been recorded on a cell phone and were later made public by Hawaii News Now.

In filing for a restraining order, which as granted on Nov. 20, 2018, Ostovich said that Berdon punched her “repeatedly on the head, face, ribs, making me fall to the ground.” She added that she also coughed up blood, vomited, and suffered a cracked orbital. The restraining order was granted and is scheduled to expire on May 19, 2019.

Ostovich also filed for divorce and the divorce decree was filed Wednesday. Full custody of the couple’s six-year-old daughter has been granted to Ostovich, with Berdon to be allowed supervised visits and the possibility of reconsideration of custody after completing anger management and domestic violence intervention courses, per Breiner.