Jul 8, 2008 12:05 pm US/Mountain
House Candidate Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Girl
GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) ―
A state legislative candidate from Jefferson County has pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, admitting he slapped his daughter after a garage door at the family's home failed to open fast enough.
Vince Chowdhury, 48, entered his plea Tuesday in a Golden courtroom. Two other charges of contempt of court and harassment were dropped.
Chowdhury apologized and asked for his family's forgiveness.
His attorney, Dave Thomas, says Chowdhury should receive a one-year deferred sentence on the assault charge, meaning the charge would be erased from his record if he stayed out of trouble for a year.
Chowdhury, a Democrat, is a member of the Jefferson County school board and faces a primary in his state legislative race next month. The school board voted to ask Chowdury to resign after he entered his guilty plea. Thomas, who is also a member of the school board, didn't vote.
An arrest affidavit says Chowdhury got angry and slapped his 16-year-old daughter and began to choke her last month, but he denied the choking allegation. Chowdhury told police he "lost it" when his wife and daughter didn't hear him honking.
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