Judge On Dom Carter: Day Laborer Excuse "Preposterous"

The judge who convicted NY1 political anchor Dominic Carter of attempted assault for "punching, choking, and kicking" his wife, ruled that his spouse's conflicting testimony blaming a day laborer for the attack was "preposterous."

In a written statement on the misdemeanor conviction, Judge Arnold Etelson ruled that Carter — who now faces up to 90 days in jail, at least one year on probation and a fine no greater than $500 — could be found guilty despite his wife's new testimony that she was beaten by a worker in a dispute over money. "The court finds Mrs. Carter’s denial of defendant as the perpetrator and her blame of the attack on an undescribed unknown day laborer as nothing short of preposterous," wrote Etelson, who scheduled Carter's sentencing for Jan. 14. "A day laborer working on the lawn would not be doing so at 9:18 p.m. in late October."

The prosecution couldn't convince the judge that Marilyn had "suffered substantial pain" to convict Carter of a more serious third-degree assault charge that could have put the pundit behind bars for a year, but the embattled journalist's future at NY1 remains very much in the air. The station told the Times that it is "in the process of reviewing the court’s decision.” Carter's attorney told the Post that the journalist "continues to deny the charge. We’re going to fight this. It’s unfair."

The tabloid also dug up some dirt on Carter's domestic life, reporting that the journalist has "beaten and berated Marilyn for the past two decades," according to the anchor's brother in-law Larry Stevens. The paper goes on to note that during his marriage, Carter fathered two children with another woman and named one of them Dominic Jr. — the same name as his son with his wife.