On November 20, former NFL player Zac Stacy was bonded out of jail after being arrested for allegedly attacking his ex-girlfriend Kristin Evans. Stacy was charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief following a video seemingly showing him beating Evans in front of their 5-month-old son, according to WFLA.
“Obviously this is a very serious charge,” Stacy’s attorney Thomas Luka told WFLA. “My hope is when we see the full record, we’ll have a much more clearer picture on the events that occurred.”
Zac Stacy was arrested at Orlando International Airport last Thursday, November 18, after a week-long police search. He appeared in court the next morning. A judge ordered Stacy to break off all contact with Evans and set his bond at $10,150.
The video of the incident is being used in the investigation, according to WFLA.
“We don’t know if that’s the full video,” said Luka. “All I know is there’s 53 seconds of video; we don’t know where that started, where it began and where it ended.”
Evans says the video is just an example of the domestic violence she’s endured for months.
“He has bullied me for so long that at one point, I believed it was my fault,” she told WFLA. “It’s disturbing and disgusting to see things people have said online about what did I do. I did nothing. I never did anything to deserve something like this — no one could do anything to deserve something like this.”
Every year, over 12 million people are victims of violence by an intimate partner in the United States and according to the CDC. This includes rape, physical violence and stalking. These numbers have gone up since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
If you think you have or are experiencing domestic violence, know that you are not alone and that it is not your fault. Anyone can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for help concerning safety and learning to identify abuse at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). You can also text START to 88788 and find resources on the National Domestic Violence Hotline website. It is all free, confidential and open 24/7.