Gospel singer James Fortune pleads guilty to assaulting wife

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Tuesday, gospel singer James Fortune plead guilty to assaulting his wife as part of a plea deal to a third degree felony charge of assault.

Fortune was sentenced to five days in jail plus five years of probation by Fort Bend District Judge Maggie Jaramillo. Additionally, he will be required to serve 175 hours of community service, complete a “batterer’s intervention” program. He was also told he would be required to stay away from his wife.

Fortune allegedly hit his wife with a wooden stool, kicked her and threw her across the room.

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In a victim impact statement, his wife wrote, “I hope in all of this you get help. Serious help. Although this probation might be like a slap on the wrist, I hope you look at it as a moment to better yourself and change something within you for your future.”

Fortune’s wife, according to prosecutors, agreed to the plea deal because she did not want to put her children through the stress of a trial or subject them to the possibility of having to testify against their father.

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This is the second time Fortune has pleaded guilty to hurting a family member after a 2002 plea deal in which he allegedly burned his 4-year-old son with hot water.