Bobbitt acquitted in Las Vegas domestic dispute

LAS VEGAS - The man infamously parted from his penis 11 years ago has been acquitted of charges that he battered family members after the discovery of a sex toy in his bedroom.

In finding John Wayne Bobbitt innocent of domestic violence, a Las Vegas judge ruled Monday that Bobbitt's 14-year-old stepson, Eric Garcia, was to blame for the Aug. 25 fight.

"The culprit here is Eric," Municipal Court Judge Pro-Tem Gary Lang said. "Eric started the fight. Eric's a brat. He went to jail, and he should've."

Monday's trial focused on an August scuffle involving Garcia and the boy's mother, Joanna Ferrell, who is Bobbitt's wife of three years. Bobbitt, 37, had faced four misdemeanor battery counts.

Witnesses testified that Garcia became enraged after finding the sex toy in a dresser shared by Bobbitt and Ferrell. Garcia began throwing things around the living room until Bobbitt confronted him.

When the boy shoved him, Bobbitt pushed him to the ground and restrained him, witnesses for both the prosecution and defense testified. Accounts varied as to whether Bobbitt ever punched the boy.

After the acquittal, Lang reprimanded Bobbitt for failing to attend court-ordered anger management classes after a 2003 domestic violence conviction, and said Bobbitt would suffer serious repercussions if he failed to show up for his remaining 23 weeks of classes.

"Try me one more time, and you'll do 90 days in jail."

Ferrell filed for divorce the day after the August incident, but she and Bobbitt reconciled. Garcia now lives with his father in New Mexico.

Outside the courtroom, Bobbitt said he was thrilled with his acquittal.

"I've never been so happy with the judicial system," said Bobbitt, whose ex-wife severed his penis with a knife in 1993.

Bobbitt, who has worked as a bartender, a brothel host in Mound House and a pornographic film star, said his plans include staying out of trouble and joining the Teamsters union as a professional mover.

He said he is working on being a good husband.