The owner of popular Cleveland restaurants like TownHall and Barley House, Bobby George, pleaded guilty Monday to felony attempted strangulation charges and received 5 years of probation.
In a written statement to the court, the victim said George abused her daily and controlled her life.
“I am terrified of the defendant, his lies and manipulation, and what he may do to me or someone I love in retaliation for speaking out,” she wrote.
The victim approved the sentence, said special prosecutor Jane Hanlin.
“That he be labeled as a convicted felon,” said Hanlin after the hearing in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. “That it be a felony conviction of violence. And that that stay with him forever.”
Cleveland prosecutors initially charged George with attempted murder, kidnapping and rape more than a year ago.
Instead, prosecutors and George’s attorneys agreed last month he would plead guilty to a single felony and they would recommend a sentence of five years probation.
The judge in the case, Joy Kennedy, said Monday she may have sent George to prison if not for that agreement.
“I would encourage you to be appreciative of the agreement that was reached on your behalf,” said Kennedy to George following the sentencing.
In her statement, which was initially filed with the court under seal but released by Hanlin following the hearing, the victim described George exerting increasing control over her life, including making her quit her job at one of his businesses “because he believed my mission in life was to care for him.”
“He would watch me on the cameras while I worked or was at his places in my free time, since I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere else,” she wrote.
She described escalating violence at George’s hands, starting with abusive language and progressing to physical violence.
“I know it is not a question of will he hurt someone again but whether a woman will be willing or able to come forward again,” she wrote. “This has nothing to do with his name, money, or status. His contributions to the city should not overshadow what he does in his private life and allow him to not be held accountable for the actions he voluntarily chooses to make.”
The case would have proceeded to a grand jury and then likely to trial if prosecutors had sought jail time, said Hanlin, but that process would have “retraumatized” the victim and forced her to put her life on hold for months.
“I think, if the matter had gone to trial, he would have been convicted. But one of the things that we have to be mindful of is what else do we do to a young woman to get to that point?” said Hanlin.
