South Florida Man Beats Wife in Judge's Private Chambers during Divorce Hearing

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A mother of two says she was brutally beaten by her estranged husband -- right in front of a judge.

The incident allegedly occurred at the Broward County Courthouse last Friday.

Caty Scott-Gonzalez was at her final divorce hearing with her soon-to-be ex husband, Paul Gonzalez. She said her husband blind-sided her inside the private chambers of Judge Ronald Rothschild. As Gonzalez allegedly began hitting her, a dozen bailiffs rushed in to subdue him. The victim said, "They had to Tase him twice in order to remove him from me."

Scott-Gonzalez said she was beaten so badly, she fell unconscious.

"The first blow to my face knocked me out, so I don't really remember anything," she said. "I just had a bad feeling, but I thought that the place that I was in, that there was nothing that could happen to me. And I was wrong."

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Gonzalez has been charged with felony battery. The ex-Marine remains in jail on $1 million bond. During Gonzalez's appearance in court, the judge said, "Rarely in my career have I ever set a bond in this amount or even approaching it, but the allegations are indeed extremely serious and shocking."

According to Scott-Gonzalez, she tried to tell others that her husband could be violent at times. The battered wife said she attempted to get a restraining order against her husband. However, her request was denied.

"I know that he's capable of that behavior," said Scott-Gonzalez, "but I didn't think that he would take it to that extreme, in front of who he did it in front of."

The mother of two young children now has huge bruises near both her eyes, split lips and several fractures to her nose and face from Friday's attack. "I really have a fear for my life that if he were to get out of prison, he would come after me and kill me," Scott-Gonzalez cried. "I feel, honestly, fearful for my life, that just the thought of him scares me to death, and I don't know what I'm going to do if he gets out of prison or jail or wherever he's going because I feel like he's going to finish what he started."

Scott-Gonzalez say she has a supportive family that will help her overcome the ordeal. Doreen Scott, the victim's mother, said, "She didn't deserve this, and the rest of her life, there will be trauma. And we're going to, as a family, deal with it."

More on this story and other news of Ft. Lauderdale at wsvn.com.