- A Cape Cod guy was founded guilty of attack in 2014 for abusing and abusing his sweetheart.
- The case gathered nationwide limelights and triggered his victim to end up being a survivor’s supporter.
- Years after his release, a family-court judge has actually permitted him to alter his name.
In an extreme three-day 2014 trial in a Cape Cod courtroom, Justin Mustafa was implicated of managing a twisted week of drug-fueled abuse in which he injected his sweetheart with heroin, consistently beat her with a belt, and required her to carry out foreplay on his pit bull.
While a judge bought a finding of innocent on an animal-abuse charge, the Cape Cod guy was eventually founded guilty on attack and other charges, and sentenced to 6 years in jail. The troubling case gathered nationwide limelights, and triggered his victim, Gabbe Rowland, to end up being a supporter for domestic-violence survivors.
Now, more than a year after his release from jail, a regional probate-court judge has actually permitted the guy to alter his name in a relocation that Rowland states lets him evade responsibility and puts other ladies at threat of becoming his victim.
” Based upon what he has actually done to me and other ladies in my neighborhood, it refers public security,” Rowland informed Expert.
In November, Rowland appeared by phone in Barnstable Probate and Household Court hearing challenging the name modification.
She informed the court she thought that if Mustafa– now Justin Curtis– was permitted to alter his name, ladies would not have the ability to quickly discover his past.
In court, however, Curtis, 33, argued that religious beliefs was the factor he was making an application for a name modification.
Curtis affirmed that he transformed to Christianity from Islam at the demand of his mom numerous years ago which Mustafa is a name with Islamic roots. His mom has actually considering that passed away, and he wished to alter his name to prevent the “spiritual dispute,” he stated.
On Tuesday, a judge ruled in his favor.
Judge Angela Ordoñez composed that since of her “challenging experience,” Rowland’s worry that individuals might not understand Curtis’ criminal history without understanding his birth name is trustworthy.
Curtis, however, isn’t trying to conceal the name modification and submitted notification of it in The Cape Cod Times and at the court’s probation workplace, as needed, she composed.
” The Court comprehends the Objector’s issues and factor for providing an objection and applauds her making her factors understood,” Ordoñez ruled. “The Court eventually discovers that Petitioner’s factor for looking for the name modification is sensible and not versus public interest.”
Female ‘in shock’ after choice
The week of abuse that Rowland withstood at her partner’s hands was extensively reported in local and international media.
Rowland provided interviews to The Cape Cod Times and later on to other media outlets, taking control of her story by sharing the information of her abuse and recovery– constantly utilizing her genuine name.
She stated she and Mustafa started dating in 2011, however he was quickly sent out to prison on charges associated with recording his ex-girlfriend naked without her approval. He informed her at the time the allegation was a lie comprised by a cruel ex, and she thought him, Rowland stated.
She stuck with him throughout the year he remained in prison. When he was launched in 2013, their relationship ended up being physically and verbally violent, she stated.
However the worst was still ahead. It wasn’t up until after Rowland broke up with Mustafa that the abuse took a much more ominous turn.
In June 2013, he selected her up from work and injected her with heroin. Over the next week, he did it numerous more times, she stated. Rowland stated when she was ill and high from the drugs, he would rape her and beat her with a belt. On one event, she stated, he informed her to undress then brought his pit bull in and informed her to offer the dog foreplay. She stated Mustafa then required her to offer him foreplay.
The Cape Cod Times reported that at the trial Mustafa called one witness– his grandpa, a previous regional selectman and law enforcement officer who stated that he never ever heard any indications of abuse originating from his grand son’s bed room.
A message left for Curtis at a number noted for his grandpa was not right away returned. Other efforts to find Curtis were not successful.
Rowland stated she is recovery from the abuse and is working to combat the stigma around domestic violence.
She informed Expert she’s still “in shock” that a male implicated of such repellent abuse was permitted to alter his name after being founded guilty.
Rowland stated she felt the probate judge “was on my side” when she informed her story in court however believes Curtis “did his research” and his spiritual claim ensured his triumph.
Rowland has an irreversible limiting order versus Curtis, and files offered to her by the state Department of Corrections list his address in Falmouth– the very same town where she lives.
” They state he remains in Falmouth, the very same town that I remain in, about 2 minutes away,” she stated.
Since there were no official sex-crime charges in her case versus Curtis, he’s not signed up as a sex transgressor therefore altering his name removes the most quickly available link to the criminal offenses he dedicated, Rowland stated.
