Domestic Violence Conviction Leads To Suspension
A Massachusetts attorney has been suspended pending final discipline as a result of a conviction.
The Eagle-Tribune reported
A North Andover-based attorney will spend the next six months in jail after pleading guilty Tuesday to domestic assault and battery for choking his girlfriend, a former client, in her apartment last month.
Saba Hashem, 44, of 6 Beechwood Drive, Methuen, was arrested on Oct. 11 in North Andover and charged with strangulation and domestic assault and battery for an incident that took place Oct. 8, according to court documents. The strangulation charge was continued without a finding Tuesday.
Hashem, who has been in jail since his arraignment and dangerousness hearing Oct. 14, was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in jail, with six months to serve. The remaining two years will be spent on supervised probation.
Hashem was served a restraining order Oct. 14, which requires him to stay away from the victim, her children and her workplace. It remains in effect until October 2016.
The victim, in an impact statement read Tuesday in court by the judge, said the abuse on Oct. 8 changed her life, leaving her frightened and unable to sleep.
Hashem’s attorney, David K. Gelb of the Boston firm Gelb & Gelb, called the incident an “aberration” and emphasized Hashem’s history of community volunteerism.
Gelb and prosecutors negotiated for the plea and punishment that the judge accepted Tuesday.
The victim said in court she had been dating Hashem for between two and three years. She said she met him in 2010 when he was her attorney following a car crash.
The dating relationship started after the attorney relationship ended, she said in court records. His behavior became more obsessive and frightening after she left her husband and moved to North Andover last year, she stated.
According to court documents, Hashem had been stalking her and became violent. The abuse related to the court case took place Oct. 8, but she did not call police. An anonymous caller asked North Andover police to check on her Oct. 11. A warrant for Hashem’s arrest was issued shortly after.
The victim filed for the restraining order days later.
Hashem was a founding partner of the North Andover firm D’Angelo & Hashem, which according to its now defunct webpage specialized in personal injury, disability, and car crash and workplace claims cases.
(Mike Frisch)