FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE GETS PRISON TIME FOR ASSAULTING WIFE

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, June 22, 2012
Former State Department Employee Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Assaulting His Wife with a Dangerous Weapon
Michael Makalou, 41, a former State Department employee, was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for assaulting his wife with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride.

Makalou was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris in the Eastern District of Virginia.   Makalou was indicted in October 2011 and was found guilty on Feb. 8, 2012, following a two-day bench trial.

According to court documents, Makalou resided with his wife and children in Dakar, Senegal, and worked as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar.  A s determined by the court in its finding of guilt, on Aug. 13, 2011, Makalou attacked his wife.   Without provocation, Makalou repeatedly punched, choked, kicked and dragged his wife in their home, ultimately striking her in the head with a large plastic dollhouse weighing approximately 10 pounds, causing his wife to lose consciousness.   This assault lasted approximately 6 hours.   The victim suffered multiple injuries, including contusions, lacerations and a concussion.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Sarah Chang of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebeca H. Bellows of the Eastern District of Virginia.   The case was investigated by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the U.S. Department of State.