Endicott Man Sentenced for Punching Woman

An Endicott man has the next three years ahead of him in a New York State Prison for hitting a woman he was supposed to stay away from in the face.

The Broome County District Attorney’s office says 29-year-old Jonathan Clapper was sentenced  Tuesday, July 5 after pleading guilty to felony Criminal Contempt for punching the 37-year-old victim.

According to a news release from Broome County District Attorney Michael Korchak, Clapper admitted that on August 8 of last year, he violated a Court Order of Protection that prohibited him from harassing the woman.  The Endicott man then got into an argument with the woman in the City of Binghamton and hit her in the face with a closed fist.

In the news release, Korchak said: “Orders of protection are put in place to protect victims. Violating a Court Order is something that the Broome County District Attorney’s Office takes very seriously.” 

Many times violations of court orders turn violent and may even escalate to incidents of serious injury or even the death of the victim, a fact noted by the District Attorney.  Korchak says, “Fortunately, this did not escalate into a more violent act." 

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The Broome County District Attorney’s office has a Special Victims Bureau dedicated to domestic violence and similar cases.  Assistant District Attorney Sarah Dean of the Special Victims Bureau prosecuted the Clapper Case for the Broome County District Attorney’s Office.

The sentencing of one and a half to three years in prison for Clapper was handed down by Judge Joseph Cawley in Broome County Court.