A Cranberry Township man, Quintin Owens, 28, was sentenced to one year in federal prison following a guilty plea for assaulting his girlfriend aboard a cruise ship. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV, who also mandated Owens to a year of supervised release and a $5,000 fine, as detailed in a report by TribLIVE.
Owens was aboard the Norwegian Getaway cruise ship when he assaulted his partner on October 11, 2022. An account by TribLIVE detailed how the assault unfolded—a confrontation leading to Owens throwing the victim to the ground and choking her. The federal jurisdiction over his crime stems in part from the fact that it occurred in international waters, as noted by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania.
In the courtroom, Owens suggested he had been drugged, claiming a loss of memory concerning the assault. "I remember waking up handcuffed to the bed," Owens told the court, according to TribLIVE, as he expressed his disbelief over the charges not being filed for over a year after the incident. However, in her emotional testimony, the victim recounted fearing for her life, the trauma of the attack forcing her to relocate and disrupt her daily existence.
The severity of domestic violence and its lasting effects on victims were a focal point in Judge Stickman's remarks during sentencing. Despite Owens' suggestions of drug involvement, Stickman was unswayed, stressing, "There's no excuse for this conduct. Period," a sentiment reported by TribLIVE. The courtroom scenario was one where the gravity of the crime and its aftermath weighed heavily on all present, particularly as the victim's physical response—a body shaking uncontrollably—visibly signified the deep scars left by the episode.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Vasquez Schmitt prosecuted the case, and the successful outcome was achieved with the aid of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The resolution, which included Owens' plea of guilt, perhaps offers a fraction of closure, though the path to fully confronting the ramifications of this violent act, as indicated by the ripple effects substantiated through the victim's testimony, remain a longer journey as per the Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti's commendation.
