Hope Solo, goalkeeper for the Seattle Reign women’s soccer team, was arrested overnight for domestic violence. Solo is being held without bail pending investigation. She is accused of hitting her sister and nephew, causing visible injuries. Police were called to Solo’s home on a report of an assault and noise disturbance.
If the reported information is accurate, domestic violence has a different definition in Washington than in Colorado. In Colorado, domestic violence is limited to a crime against an intimate partner, such as a spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend. It does not apply to other family members. For example, if the allegations had occurred here, Solo would have been charged with assault and perhaps child abuse, depending on her nephew’s age, but not as acts of domestic violence. If Solo were accused of hitting her husband, then she would be charged with assault as an act of domestic violence.
The domestic violence designation is significant because it prevents people from posting a bond until he or she has been seen by a judge. It also enhances or increases any sentence received because if convicted, domestic violence treatment is required.