Standing before the courtroom of Judge Michael Dodge, Edwardsburg’s Erica Finley continually stifled tears as she read aloud a letter directed to her former lover and father of her son, recounting to him and to the other occupants of the Cassopolis courtroom the abuses and pain she endured throughout their troubled relationship.

Meanwhile, sitting only a few feet away was the letter’s subject, Mishawaka’s Arturo Rosa-Onofre, who hung his face down toward the table as Finley described the nightmare he had turned her life into over the last several months — a downward spiral that was topped off by the miscarriage of their second child together, due in part to the stresses his aggressiveness had on her, she said.

“You have emotionally broken me down,” Finley said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust a man again after everything you have done to me. You have daughters, Arturo. How would you feel if someone hurt them the way you hurt me?”

Judge Dodge sentenced Onofre, 39, to 90 days in jail and 18 months of probation during his appearance in court Friday morning, on a single charge of aggravated stalking. The Indiana resident pleaded guilty to the crime during an appearance in court on July 16.

The charge stems from Onofre’s violation of a personal protection order issued against him by the court on April 24, which Finley requested after the dissolution of their affair, Dodge said. The two were engaged in a romantic relationship with one another, and even had a child together, despite the fact that Arturo is married to another woman, Dodge said.

Less than a week after being served with the restraining order, on April 29, Onofre attempted to contact his ex, including sending her a text message.

“I know what you’ve told me, about how you just wanted to see your son, but the order tells you you can’t have contact with her,” Dodge said.

A few weeks later, on May 10, he again reached out to Finley, visiting her while she was working at the Prime Table in Niles.

In his statement to the judge, Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz described Onofre as a “control freak.” He also pointed out that the defendant has been living illegally in the U.S. for the last 20 years, and should face deportation for his action, Fitz said.

“A guest [of this country] should be on his best behavior,” Fitz said. “Instead, he’s an abuser and stalker, and someone who comprises the safety of this woman as well as every person in this courtroom and every person in this community.”

Despite Onofre’s clean prior record, the Michigan Department of Corrections has notified federal immigration and customs officers about his felony, placing him in danger of possible deportation, Dodge said.

Onofre was given 11 days credit for time already served.