Yellowknife (Nov 06/06) - A Tulita woman was sentenced last Wednesday to three years' probation for driving into her common-law spouse, then getting out of the vehicle and kicking him.

The victim was walking home in February after drinking with friends when he saw vehicle lights coming up behind him.

He was struck by the vehicle's side mirror and knocked to the ground. His spouse stopped the vehicle, got out and kicked him once in the chin before driving away.

The man was medevaced to Yellowknife, but released the same day with a few scratches and a stiff back.

The man's spouse was charged with assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.

Crown counsel Shannon Smallwood supported a suspended sentence for the woman as she is the primary caregiver for the couple's seven children and had no previous criminal record.

Defence counsel Daniel Rideout said the woman had caught her spouse cheating on her, and was not acting rationally at the time.

"I just want to say I'm sorry," the woman told territorial court judge Bernadette Schmaltz.

In addition to the three-year suspended sentence, Schmaltz ordered the woman to perform 240 hours of community service, and to provide a DNA sample.

Schmaltz said, in reference to the pre-sentencing report, that regardless of the family situation, "a victim should never be blamed for an offence of violence. Nothing should ever cause this type of reaction."