San Francisco man who whipped wife, hung French bulldog to be sentenced

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A San Francisco man is set to be sentenced by a San Mateo County judge on Wednesday for a disturbing case of domestic violence involving his estranged wife and her French bulldog.

James Paul Jolivette Jr., 36, attacked his wife in 2022 because he thought she was cheating on him, prosecutors said. Jolivette terrorized his wife for five hours inside her South San Francisco house while their daughters, ages 12 and 4, were also home, according to investigators.

The couple had been married for 11 years, but they lived in separate homes because their relationship was strained from prior domestic violence, investigators said.

Jolivette entered the victim's house on the night of June 5, 2022 unannounced and accused her of infidelity. He whipped his wife with a belt, prosecutors said. When the family's French bulldog tried to intervene and protect the victim, Jolivette hung the dog with a noose from a banister, prosecutors said.

As Jolivette continued whipping his wife, their daughter heard the victim crying and screaming, "I'm not lying to you," the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office wrote.

The wife and her French bulldog survived the attack. "The victim was able to convince the defendant to release the dog and he continued the physical assault against her. Over the course of approximately five hours, the defendant whipped, punched and kicked the victim, threatened her, made her kneel facing a wall and then forced her to massage his back and feet while laughing about what he was doing to her," the DA's office wrote.

Days before his jury trial was set to begin in August, Jolivette pleaded no contest to felony domestic violence, animal cruelty, and attempted torture. He faces up to 10 years in prison and will be is sentenced by Superior Court Judge Rachel Holt Wednesday.