Judicial candidate caught whipping belt at girlfriend admits guilt. Case may not stay on his record.

DETROIT – Whipping his girlfriend with a belt may have cost Jason Kolkema an election, but it likely won't cost him his freedom – and his crime could get erased from his record altogether.

The failed judicial candidate from Muskegon, Michigan, who was captured on video over the summer swinging his belt during an argument with his girlfriend pleaded guilty to domestic violence this month under a program that allows first-time offenders to get the case dismissed.

While the judge took Kolkema's plea under advisement, if he completes what's required of him during the probationary period, his case will ultimately be dismissed.

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Kolkema's story changes

The 51-year-old attorney suffered a landslide loss in November for a judicial seat after videos surfaced of him allegedly assaulting his girlfriend with a belt during an argument in his Michigan apartment. Kolkema won the primary, but then came the videos, which hit social media and  prompted a Detroit Free Press investigation into Kolkema's past troubles, including a documented history of behaving violently around women and children.

After the video surfaced and charges followed, Kolkema and his then-girlfriend – they are no longer together – maintained that he never struck her; that the belt only hit the chair in which she was sitting.

That story has since changed.

In a guilty plea hearing on Dec. 7, Kolkema admitted that he struck his girlfriend, but not on purpose.

"I swung a belt in her presence ... one of the belt swings struck her. The last one knocked a bracelet off her, (and) sent beads flying" Kolkema said during his plea hearing.

'Was it your intent to lead her to believe that she would be struck?'

Allegan County District Court Judge Joseph Skocelas pressed Kolkema to explain his actions inside his Muskegon home.

"Was it intentional?" the judge asked.

"No," Kolkema responded.

"So it was an accident?" the judge continued.

"I would say that it was unintentional," Kolkema said. "The belt was out of range, but when she raised her arm up, protecting herself that made contact with her."

The judge pressed him to further explain.

"When you swung the belt, was it your intent to lead her to believe that she would be struck?" the judge asked.

"Yes," answered Kolkema, who then shrugged and opened his eyes wide, looking confused.

Kolkema has not yet been sentenced. He pleaded guilty to domestic violence, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of up to 93 days in jail and/or a $500 fine. The judge, who will ultimately decide his sentence and has ordered a presentence investigation report, noted at Kolkema's plea hearing that if he completes a probationary period, the case will be dismissed.

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Victim supports opportunity for case to be dismissed

On Wednesday, Muskegon County Prosecutor DJ Hilson said his office plans to recommend that as part of his sentence, Kolkema attend a "batterers program." He would not comment on whether he believes Kolkema deserves a jail sentence, saying only "we're going to leave all that to the court."

Meanwhile, Hilson said that in negotiating the plea deal with Kolkema, his office has had "extensive conversations with the victim in the case," and that she requested that Kolkema be allowed to enter his plea under the program that allows for the case to be dismissed. He said the prosecutor's office also met with a domestic violence expert who had met with the victim, and assured him that the victim's request was of her own free will.

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"We wanted to make sure that what she was saying ... was reasonable and of her own free will. It wasn't her being forced or coerced," Hilson said, adding: "Every Woman's Place assured us that her recommendation is coming from her."

Hilson added: "We felt that this particular victim made a reasonable request and gave her back some power that she lost."

As for Kolkema's case getting erased, Hilson said regardless of what happens in the courts, it will live on in one of the most "public, nonpublic" files around:

"You can't Google his name and not see what's gone on in the last six months," Hilson noted.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judicial candidate Jason Kolkema admits guilt in belt whipping video