CHULA VISTA - The man captured on motel surveillance footage kicking his girlfriend and knocking her to the ground is headed to prison.
Under a plea deal, Dorian Anguiano was sentenced to 7 years. Friday morning, Anguiano tried to change his plea, saying he misunderstood his attorney.
"I told him the 7 years was too much and he said if I accept the deal, he said that I could take my plea back at anytime," Anguiano told the judge.
The judge would not allow him to withdraw his plea and the attorney said he never told Anguiano he could change his plea.
In a stunning turn of events, the victim told the judge her boyfriend didn't deserve to go to prison.
"He's being accused of, falsely accused of, giving me broken ribs and a broken nose, which he did not do and never done anything like that to me," said the woman who we are not identifying because police believe she is a domestic violence victim.
The woman said the attack only left her with a bruise to her face. She said Anguiano had a "moment of insanity" after she provoked him by punching him first.
"I'm very saddened because Dorian Anguiano is a good person. This whole case has been really misunderstood, if anything we are victims of alcohol," said the woman.
She said her boyfriend snapped after finding alcohol bottles in her purse. She said he was trying to kick her purse, not her.
"I'm speaking out because Dorian Anguiano is a very good person, he actually is the one who helped me with my addiction," said the woman.
The couple is also fighting to lift a judge's 10 year restraining order so they can get married.
Domestic violence experts say this is a typical cycle of abuse.
"She gets to make her choices, just like everybody gets to make their choices, but I'm very thankful that in San Diego now and in many parts of the country it's not her decision anymore whether a criminal gets held accountable for criminal conduct," said Casey Gwinn, President of Alliance for Hope International.
Gwinn said victims often feel they have no where to turn.
"I doubt that she probably has a strong community of support around her. I doubt she has a lot of friends and family supporting her in this. He is probably her support system in life, he is her community, and we look at that from the outside and say this is a violent, unhealthy community," said Gwinn.
In spite of the woman's claims that her boyfriend snapped and had never hurt her before, Gwinn says there's no way what happened in that parking lot was the first act of violence.
"The intervention of law enforcement in this case probably saved her life, because when you get to that level of violence you are right on the edge of a homicide," said Gwinn.
