Man who beat wife and forced her to walk naked down cold street said she ‘deserved it’

Jason Melo recorded her humiliation and posted it online, but was unrepentant in court

Mr Melo, from the Bronx, appeared unrepentant in court (Facebook)

A man who choked and beat his wife in front of their newborn daughter, and then forced her to walk naked down a cold street in New York, said that she “deserved it”.

Jason Melo, 24, said he punished the 22-year-old for sending messages to other men. Police sources said he punched her in the face and threatened to throw her down a flight of stairs.

He then made her walk down a street wearing just a towel on 17 January, taunting her and swearing at her on camera, and threatening to post it online. The temperature that day was 24 degrees fahrenheit, or minus 4 degrees celsius.

Mr Melo then took the towel from his partner, leaving her naked except for a pair of boots. As she hid between cars to hide herself, Mr Melo continued to insult her.

The outrage caused by the video prompted Mr Melo to “apologise” via an Instagram post.

The woman reported the crime on Monday and Mr Melo turned himself in to police two days later.

In court, however, Mr Melo appeared unrepentant, according to the New York Post. He told a reporter that the mother of his three-month-old child "shouldn’t have done what she did" - allegedly sending naked pictures of herself to other men.

“The video displayed verbal abuse, forced humiliation and harassment by the alleged offender, directed at his wife,” First Lady Chirlane McCray said in a statement released by the Mayor’s Office.

Defense lawyer Andrews Aranda argued that the woman, who hd been left with bruises and facial swelling, had “walked calmly down the street laughing”.

Prosecutors revealed the defendant has an open drug felony case in Massachusetts.

Mr Melo has been held for $7,500 cash bail and has been accused of choking and punching the victim. He faces charges of assault, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child.