ST. THOMAS — A man has been ordered to stay away from the home he shares with his longtime girlfriend and two children.

Garvin Sanderson, age 32 is charged with simple assault and disturbance of the peace, both categorized as crimes of domestic violence.

Sanderson’s girlfriend said that he slapped her during a verbal disagreement on Sunday, causing her to fall to the floor. According to the alleged victim, she attempted to defend herself but Sanderson slapped her again. She also told police that he held her against the wall with his hand to her throat but she was able to breathe. Based on her account, her minor son then told Sanderson to stop, calling him a monster and Sanderson turned to the son, walked up to him and stated, “say that again.” She recounted that she got in between the two and told Sanderson to leave her son alone.

In her statement to police, the woman also relayed that Sanderson allegedly told her that he would continue to beat her until she leaves his house. He then left the residence at which point she called for police assistance. She later told police that the matter was an ongoing situation and that she is tired of it.

When police made contact with Sanderson, he claimed that the woman began arguing with him stating that she does not want to be with him. According to the accused, he and his girlfriend argue daily and he has begged her to leave his house. He told police that on the day in question, she began attacking him by throwing things at him and he pushed her down but she continued with the same behavior so he held her to restrain her. He stated that he did not slap her and that if he held her by the throat it was simply to restrain her, not to strangle her. While the two individuals provided somewhat different accounts, according to the probable cause fact sheet, the two minor children indicated to police that Sanderson slapped the woman several times and they asked him to stop.

Following Sanderson’s arrest, he was turned over to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending his advisement hearing on Monday.

At that hearing, bail was set at $1,000 with allowance for his release on the posting of 10 percent. Upon his release, Sanderson will reside with a court-approved third-party custodian as he is prohibited from returning to the residence he shared with his girlfriend. The judge emphasized that Sanderson is strictly forbidden from having any unlawful contact with the alleged victim. However, he must continue making his usual contributions towards the maintenance of the children and home.