With her court date upon her today, Kate Chastain will face the charges brought about in early June of domestic battery of then-girlfriend, Rocio (Ro) Hernandez. Charges against Kate detailed in a Melbourne, Florida police report claimed Kate bit, held down, and choked Hernandez after the two women came home from a bar late at night on June 11. But the Below Deck star has maintained her innocence all along, even issuing a statement through her lawyer, Gary Frese, in August that said, “The version of the incident told to the police by Ms. Hernandez is completely fictitious.”
Now, video footage of Kate from the day of the charges reveals her telling police that she was actually the victim of domestic battery – not Hernandez.
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When asked why she didn’t file charges against Hernandez for the alleged abuse, Kate reasons that she is a “public figure” and didn’t want to bring scrutiny to her image. In a video released by Florida Today of Kate at home after the incident, she shows police officers a bite mark on her hip and tells them, “I’m on TV. I’m a public figure. I can’t have this domestic nonsense.”
Hernandez, who reportedly had “numerous bruises all over her body” and “bite marks on her arm, on her neck, and on her thigh” told police that Kate had attacked her in their shared home after flying into “a fit of rage.” But every story has multiple sides and, according to Kate, the police report didn’t reveal the whole truth.
In the video, Kate tells officers that she had been “held hostage” in her home by Hernandez for three days. During this time, Kate alleges that Hernandez “was on the floor breaking glass … she poured champagne on my head,” adding, “It’s been a horrible week. It’s been broken glass, fighting, screaming.”
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When officers then asked Kate why she didn’t call the police during this three-day altercation, she answered, “Because I’m on television, and I don’t really need a news report coming out that I have a lesbian domestic violence.” Alas, news reports did surface when Hernandez went to the police instead.
After word of Hernandez‘ allegations against Kate broke, Kate’s attorney issued a statement that argued her claims were bogus. Frese told Florida Today, “Ms. Hernandez, a former professional fitness trainer over six feet tall, physically attacked Ms. Chastain who tried her best to defend herself during the attack. Ms. Chastain is of very slight build and is 5 foot 7 inches tall. At no time was Ms. Chastain the aggressor in the altercation. When all the actual facts are determined in the legal process Ms. Chastain will be completely vindicated and Ms. Hernandez will be shown to have a history of violent behavior and to have completely misrepresented the facts to the police about Ms. Chastain’s actions.”
Hernandez appeared on season four of Below Deck when she visited Kate aboard Valor (for some seriously over-the-top PDA sessions). Since filming, Kate hinted at her innocence in the police matter, blogging that “it only takes one person’s words to forever affect the life of another.” Perhaps clarity will be found today in court.
TELL US: DO YOU THINK KATE IS THE PERPETRATOR OR THE VICTIM IN THIS CASE?
Photo Credit: Bravo
